Shirley Shapiro

Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Shirley was originally named Shulamis. Children teased her, calling her “Salami”, so she took on the name “Shirley”.

Her parents were Sholem and Berta Horowitz, immigrants from the Jewish Pale of Settlement in the western part of Imperial Russia. They arrived in the United States in 1913.

As a young girl in mornings before school, she assisted with her father’s newsdealer business, fielding telephone calls about misdelivered newspapers. She would tell customers that she would report the problem to her father when he returned. Sholem was actually there, busy with other matters in the business.

Music was central part of family life. Sholem had an encyclopedic knowledge of Yiddish songs. Shirley said that Sholem would tell everybody that his knowledge of Yiddish song was dwarfed by his father’s knowledge of Yiddish song. Family gatherings around a holiday dinner table usually included several hours of singing. This family tradition continued through the end of her parents’ generation.

Shirley developed a passion for playing classical piano at a young age. This continued into her 90’s. Rare were the days that her home was not filled with piano music, her playing favorites or working on a new piece. Many will remember her group recitals in and around Highland Park and New Brunswick. Her last piano teacher was Sung Tae Park.

She met her husband Yash (Jack) via an arranged meeting conceived by family friend Rose Aaron.

Shirley loved to play games. Her favorites were Scrabble and bridge. She seldom lost at Scrabble.

Shirley’s profession was social work. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from New York University in the 1940’s, she returned to school in the 1970’s to gain her master’s degree from Rutgers University School of Social Work. She worked for over twenty years with incarcerated youth at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center in North Brunswick.

In the early 1970’s, she was elected to the Highland Park Board of Education.

Shirley leaves daughter Leslie Jenkins, son Tom and daughter-in-law Akemi, son Steve; grandchildren Farida Dowler, Dara Jenkins, Gabriel Shapiro, Jacob Shapiro, Danielle Miller; and great granddaughter, Maddalena Dowler.

A celebration of her life will be held later this year in Seattle and in New Jersey.

Please sign the online guest book below to leave a message of support for the family.