Rose Shapiro

Rose was born on September 30, 1919 in Glasgow, Scotland, the second youngest of eleven children. Following a happy childhood and prior to the beginning of World War 11, she worked with a furrier and a photographer.

During World War 11, Rose volunteered with the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) serving in both Scotland and northern Ireland. There she developed photographs taken by pilots on reconnaissance flights. At the end of the war she volunteered at a dance held in Glasgow for overseas servicemen. Here she met Herman Shapiro, Canadian army serviceman and the love of her life. They were engaged in one week and married in three. Rose crossed the Atlantic on the second to the last crossing of the Queen Mary, full of war brides.

Rose and Herman settled in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia where they raised their two daughters, Laura and Valerie. She excelled at entertaining, with tables that could easily feature in entertainment magazines. She was an exquisite baker and cook. On Herman's retirement they moved to Kelowna, B.C. to be near their two girls and where they lived happily until Herman's passing after 60 years of marriage.

Anyone who knew Rose was struck by her elegance, graciousness, kindness, hospitality, inner beauty, humour, strength, fun nature, and love of family. She lit up a room with her charm and happy personality. She was an incredible mother. She was the epitome of a lady.

Rose's interests were many and varied. She enjoyed singing in a choir, loved to bake and entertain, and was fascinated by space travel, archeology, stories of Ancient Egypt and peoples of different lands and cultures. Travel and travelogues, reading, fashion, royalty and murder mysteries rounded out her other interests, though some are likely missing from this accounting.

Rose will be profoundly missed by her daughters, extended family and those who knew her well in Yarmouth and Kelowna. She will be missed deeply and remembered always.