Remembering Dr. Luigia “Gigi” Norsa

Long-time NYAM Fellow and Malloch Rare Book Room volunteer Dr. Luigia Norsa, known to all as Gigi, died on June, 20, 2011. Gigi was born in Milan, Italy in 1921 and moved to Schenectady, NY in 1938 with her parents and her sister. She graduated from Vassar College and then went on to medical school at Washington University in St. Louis. She also studied at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis and Psychology. After completing her education, Gigi made New York her home, practicing neurology and psychiatry privately and at the Veterans Administration Hospital. She became a NYAM Fellow in 1971 and after retiring from active practice became a volunteer in the rare book room beginning in 1998. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, nieces and great nephews, as well as by relatives who remained in Europe during and after the Second World War.

Gigi was a member of the Section on Psychiatry and the Section on the History of Medicine and Public Health. She took an active interest in the Friends of the Rare Book Room, for which she served as the Treasurer for a number of years. As a Malloch Rare Book Room volunteer she curated several small exhibits, including one on the plague in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe and another on the plague in seventeenth century Italy. She also translated documents for the staff and patrons and generally assisted with tasks related to the upkeep of the collections.

Those of us who were privileged to work with her knew her as a woman of strong opinions, fierce intelligence and wit. She displayed an enormous sense of style, and always arrived at the Academy beautifully dressed. She is very much missed by the NYAM staff members who knew her. “Gigi was one of the first people I met when I joined the rare book room staff in 2001,” said Arlene Shaner, the Acting Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections, “and it was so interesting to hear her talk about her experience as a female medical student in the 1940s. She became a physician at a time when it was much more challenging for women to become doctors. We were very lucky to be able to take advantage of her knowledge of medicine, art, neurology and psychiatry in the rare book room for many years.” A memorial service is planned for early August; for more information please contact the rare book room at 212-822-7313 or send email to history@nyam.org.

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Posted on July 6, 2011

Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org

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