Beatrice P. Troyan

Beatrice Phyllis Troyan M.D. of Philadelphia passed away of natural causes at the age of 98 on April 23, 2021. Bea was the only child of Harry and Molly Troyan, Russian Jewish immigrants. Growing up in the Fairmount neighborhood, she took advantage of the nearby Philadelphia Art Museum and the Philadelphia Public Library, kindling a lifelong love of art and books. She was a voracious reader from early childhood on. She loved the outdoors, and attended and then worked as a counsellor at Camp Louise, a Jewish overnight girls camp in Maryland. She graduated early from the Philadelphia High School for Girls, then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she fenced and sang in the chorus. She knew she wanted to be a physician since the age of four, and entered Hahnemann Medical College during WWII as one of only five women, in what was the first class ever to admit them. She graduated with honors, and went on to do a residency at Hahnemann Medical College in Obstetrics and Gynecology— as a woman, she was told a surgical residency was not an option, and OB-GYN would afford her the opportunity to operate as she desired. She served as faculty and staff at Hahnemann for more than 30 years, delivering countless babies and training obstetrical residents and fellows. She ran a fertility clinic in the 1950’s at Women’s Hospital, and in the 1970’s was a project director of the Maternal and Infant Care program at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, where she took pride in helping an underserved population. Beatrice finished out her medical career as an Assistant Medical Director at Bell Telephone of Philadelphia, retiring in the mid 1980’s. She was an early supporter and lifelong advocate for women’s reproductive rights, and social justice more broadly, and donated to many charitable causes. She was also a supporter of the arts, loved opera, and enjoyed folk and square dancing. She studied art at the original Barnes Foundation; she painted, drew, and was a fine cook. She travelled the world extensively, and went to China with a group of physicians to observe and interact with Chinese doctors shortly after the opening to China in the early 1970’s. Bea is survived by her daughter Gail Kligman of Los Angeles, and sons Douglas Kligman of Wayne, PA, and Michael Kligman of Salt Lake City, UT, as well as four grandchildren: Hannah, Ben, Ian, and Annika. She died exactly two weeks before her 99th birthday.