Dr. Avraham Perlmutter, 1927-2022

Avraham Perlmutter, Ph.D. passed away peacefully on August 17, 2022, in Pacific Palisades, CA, at the age of 94.

His inspirational life story was featured in the Jewish Journal on April 26, 2017.

Avraham was an award-winning scientist, businessman, author, and public speaker.  He was born on August 28, 1927, in Vienna, Austria to Chaim and Malka Perlmutter. After Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, his parents sent him on the Kindertransport to the Netherlands. During the ensuing war-torn years, Avraham braved harrowing captures, daring escapes, torturous hiding, and heartbreaking losses. Yet he also experienced the goodness of humanity through the strangers who helped him.

He emerged from the Holocaust with a positive perspective on life, choosing to focus on the people who helped him rather than those set on defeating him. Surviving the Holocaust took ingenuity, guts, and sheer determination—all of which he called on again, when he joined the Haganah and then fought to establish the State of Israel during its War of Independence.

Fluent in seven languages, he went on to pursue his education in the United States, earning a B.S. in three years from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master’s Degree from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Avraham founded a successful engineering company with two partners, and they developed many innovative products, including the Dynalens, an image stabilization system that won a Scientific and Technical Academy Award.  He subsequently founded several other businesses.

For many years, Avraham shared his extraordinary life story and its universal lessons, including the importance of possessing determination and resilience, of helping others, of having compassion, empathy, and tolerance for all people, and of obtaining a good education. He spoke to thousands of people at museums, schools, and other venues. His inspirational tale was also conveyed by his #1 best-selling autobiography, Determined: The Story of Holocaust Survivor Avraham Perlmutter, and the award-winning documentary of the same name.

Avraham was a very loving, warm, caring, and kind person, and he loved to help others. He enjoyed reading, playing chess, tennis and ping-pong, jogging, and playing cards with his friends.

Devoted to his family, he was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. He was married to his wife, Ruth (z”l), for 62 years. He is survived by his children, Michael (Pam) Perlmutter, David (Wendy) Perlmutter, Sharon (Andy) Gavin, and Keren Perlmutter, and his grandchildren, Emily, Josh, Zachary, Rachel, and Alex.

A private service was held by Sholom Chapels Mortuary at Hillside Memorial Park. Donations in Avraham’s name may be directed to the American Society for Yad Vashem, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, or Chabad North of Montana.