Avigail NiNamara (MacFee) BenShira, daughter of Namara (hound of the sea, references a Viking), McFee  Gaelic for child of peace; child of Shira (song). Avigail was born in Ireland, County Donegal I believe. Her mother was Irish, her father Israeli. She was an only child born to two only children. Her mother died when she was quite young, and she was raised by a grandmother on a small island in Western Scotland, and her father, an engineer, who traveled the world. 
As Avigail grew up, she frequently traveled with her father. Because she was so quick with languages, she picked them up easily. I know she spoke both Irish and Scottish Gaelic, French, some Spanish, Hebrew, Mandarin, and probably others that I know nothing of. 
Avigail came to the US as a young student, and studied voice and harp at Julliard, and earned a Ph.D. as an ethnomusicologist. She located in San Antonio and taught music, then moved to Austin and taught music at UT. However, as we all know, non-tenured assistant professors earn almost nothing. She had to work at HEB at night to make ends meet. So she decided to become a nurse. She received her nursing BS from UT Health Science and quickly became a highly regarded RN in emergency rooms. She like to move about, taking contracts for periods of time, from South Texas to New Hampshire, but always found her way back to San Antonio or Houston. 
We met in 1990 or so when Avigail joined the San Antonio Irish Dancers. We performed and competed and were a tight social group. Avigail taught my son music on the Irish tin whistle. Avigail and I engaged in enthusiastic debate about myriad and far-flung subjects. She was the smartest person I know. When I told my son of her passing, one of his first comments was that the median IQ of the US dropped, and the median IQ of Texas dropped way down. 
She loved good music, was a life-long vegetarian, a woman who suffered fools lightly but also had a mighty heart. I will miss her til the end of my days.

Funeraria del Angel Roy Akers

Avigail Benshirah

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Avigail Ninamara Benshirah

1 August, 1964 – 2 July, 2015

Funeraria del Angel Roy Akers

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