Norma (Woloshin) Basch, 81, of New York City and Truro, Mass., died September 29 at Cape Cod Hospital, surrounded by her family.

Born in Norwich, July 4, 1934, and raised in Worcester, Mass., she graduated from Barnard College in 1956. After a brief hiatus from academia when her children were young, she began graduate studies in the late 1960s. In 1979 she earned her PhD in American studies from New York University, where her dissertation was awarded the Bayrd Still Prize for the best dissertation in history that year.

She leaves behind her husband of 59 years, Sheldon; her daughter Rachel of Newtown; her son Fred and daughter-in-law Susan of New York; and three grandchildren, Nathaniel Basch-Gould, Hannah Basch-Gould, and Emma Basch.

At the time of her death, Dr Basch was professor emerita at Rutgers University, having taught  history there from 1979 until 2004. A founder of the modern field of legal history, she was the author of two groundbreaking works of feminist legal history, Framing Divorce: From the Revolutionary Generation to the Victorians and In the Eyes of the Law: Women, Marriage, and Property in Nineteenth-Century New York. A passionate feminist who inspired her students and colleagues, she wrote about complex issues in the history of the law with unusual clarity and eloquence. Her scholarship was referenced in an amicus brief cited in the majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that validated marriage equality.

A graveside service was held for the family. A memorial service is planned for Sunday, October 25, at 2 pm, at the Village Temple, 33 East 12th Street, New York City.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Caroline’s Gift, Newtown Youth & Family Services, 15 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook CT 06482.