David M. Shapiro- We are sad to announce the passing of David M Shapiro, who died on September 17, 2013 at Patriot Heights Independent Living, where he had been a resident during the last few years of his life. He will be remembered as a caring man, a scholar, a man who was interested in every aspect of science and human history, and someone whose mind was as sharp as a tack until the last anyone spoke with him, in his 85th year. He was a well-known figure around the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, the Institute of Texan Cultures, the San Antonio Zoo, and the Academy of Learning in Retirement (ALIR)
David was born on June 9, 1929 to Morris and Marion Shapiro in New York City. He attended Queens College, New York, where he met his wife, Bernice Yager. They married on June 8, 1950. He went to graduate school at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD where he achieved a PhD in Biology in 1961. He continued to pursue a university career as a teacher and researcher in biochemistry, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia, and finally at The University of Texas Health Science Centre at San Antonio, where he worked for 24 years, first as a professor of biochemistry, and then as the Executive Director of Student Services. He retired in 1992. Sadly, shortly after his retirement, Bernice, his beloved wife of 43 years passed in early 1993.
David had many interests outside work, including scuba diving and marathon running (he ran in the Boston Marathon in his 50s). He loved to travel, both across the American southwest and Europe, and even Tanzania. He was the President and long-time member of the San Antonio Chamber Music Society. He volunteered as a docent at the Institute of Texan Cultures and at the San Antonio Zoo. He was a long-time member of the Temple Beth El congregation. In recent years David was very active as teacher and student in the classes of ALIR.
He is survived by the family he loved; his children: Michael and Vicki Shapiro of San Antonio, Daniel and Debbie Shapiro of New Orleans, and Jonathan Shapiro and Maria Novelly of Manchester, England; and grandchildren: Kayla, Matt, Amy, and Allison.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, September 24th, at Sunset Funeral Home at 1701 Austin Hwy, San Antonio, Texas 78218, with visitation at 11:00am and a funeral service at noon, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, PO Box 12702 San Antonio, Texas 78212, website www.SACMS.org.
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