Joseph S Tulchin

Joseph Samuel Tulchin (of blessed memory) was born in the Bronx, NY on 13 January 1939 to Leon and Fannie (Hyman) Tulchin. He had a childhood familiar to many in the second generation of Jewish immigrant small business owners (Tulnoy Lumber, a proud family enterprise today). He gathered many wonderful stories growing up on Walton Avenue mere blocks from the old Yankee Stadium, with one grandmother living in the small family apartment and the other living upstairs with an aunt.

After studying at New York public schools and Horace Mann, Joe followed his older brother Herb (who survives him) to Amherst College in Massachusetts. There, he pursued his love of performance and athletics. He appeared frequently on stage - including Shakespeare, provided baritone to numerous singing groups, and played sports year-round – pitching lefty in baseball and lettering in squash.

After graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1959, he travelled to Europe reading history at Peterhouse Cambridge as a Rhodes Scholar, before returning to the US to attend Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1965. He met and married his first wife Judith (Brown) Tulchin in 1964 while both were in Cambridge, MA.

His academic focus was Argentina, first travelling there in the 1960s. That began a life-long friendship and love that continued for the rest of his life. He went to New Haven for his first teaching position at Yale.

In the early 1970s, he moved with his then small family to teach history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He was one of a cohort of young scholars adding life to the department. He was an award-winning instructor in the classroom, Editor of the Latin American Research Review, and author of numerous publications. As an administrator, Joe became the head of the Office of International Programs, expanding opportunities for UNC students to study abroad.

In the early 90s, he moved to Washington, DC to lead the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where he grew that program extensively, including launching the Mexico Program, in addition to many other initiatives. During that time, he wed Kate Heery (of blessed memory).

Upon retiring from there in 2006, he moved to Falmouth, on the Cape of Massachusetts. He wrote and consulted for GISreportsonline.com. With his final monograph coming in 2016, he capped a career with more than 100 publications. He lived his final years in Brookline, MA.

In addition to his brother, Herb, he is survived by his loving companion SallyAnn Wekstein, his four children -- Lisa Tulchin, Drew Tulchin, Ben Tulchin, and Matt Tulchin, their spouses and partners -- Toni Janz, Emma Pike, Laurie Beijen, and Katharine Marshall, and his five grandchildren.

In lieu of gifts or flowers, donations in Joseph’s memory may be made to the Migration Policy Institute www.migrationpolicy.org/about/support-mpi, the Amherst College "Tulchin Family Scholarship Fund" Pls write in the notes section in honor of Joe Tulchin www.amherst.edu/give/ways-to-give, or organization of your choosing that furthers democracy, education and/or social equity for all.

The family invites remembrances and memories posted on his Facebook profile or to his email [email protected].