Shirley Helman Eisenberg

Shirley Helman Eisenberg, age 98, of Chestnut Hill, died in her home on December 15, 2022. For 58 years, she was the beloved wife of the late Eugene R. Eisenberg where they met as students at Brookline High School. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she devoted more than 30 years to the Museum of Fine Arts, serving on the Women’s Committee and as a Gallery Instructor. She introduced hundreds of students to the Museum’s world-renowned collections and fostered an appreciation and knowledge of art among her family and friends. She and Eugene also were Patrons of the institution that was so important to her.

Active in local politics, she was a member of the League of Women Voters and a successful fundraiser for local candidates and charities. An excellent athlete her entire life, she was an avid tennis player and founding member of Wightman Tennis Club, a skier, and a sailing enthusiast with fine navigational skills – both on the ocean and in life as a wife and mother. She shared it all with her family which was her greatest joy.

She leaves her children, Charles and his wife Diane, Andrew and his partner, John Vetrano, Susanne Cummings and her husband Stuart; daughter-in-law Sheryl; grandchildren James and Tara, Ben, Lauren and Serge Gagarin, and Geoffrey and Erin; and great-grandchildren Maura, Meagan, Maeve, Genevieve, Katherine and Andrew. She will be missed by all who have been touched by her genuine warmth, grace, keen intellect and sense of humor. The family extends our heartfelt appreciation to our teams at Visiting Angels, Hebrew Senior Hospice, and Right at Home, all of whom enabled her to remain in her home, and our deepest gratitude to Marie Bellefleur-Raymond, her caregiver, for the devoted care, commitment, and unwavering compassion she gave her every day.

A funeral service will be held at the Sharon Memorial Chapel, 40 Dedham Street, Sharon, MA, on December 28, at 1:00 pm. The family will receive visitors at the home of Andrew Eisenberg following the service until 5:00 pm and 6:00-8:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Museum of Fine Arts MFA Fund, www.mfa.org or Bryn Mawr College, www.brynmawr.edu/giving