Oct. 7, 1943 - Nov. 15, 2024
Peggy Ruth (Bierer) Shapera was born on October 7, 1943 in Denver CO. Her parents, Walter Bierer and Regina Frankel, were born in Germany and escaped Nazi occupied Europe in 1942. Her life was shaped by their stories of survival and enthusiastic engagement in American life thereafter.
Peggy was raised in Elmhurst, Queens
with her younger sister Joan. Her father was a traveling salesman and her mother helped run the family business: selling Swiss handkerchiefs. On weekends, they liked to get out of the city and into nature at places like Pound Ridge Preserve and Jones Beach.
Peggy met her future husband Ronald Shapera when she was 12 and he was 15 at Camp Pembina in Quebec. Peggy was friends with Ron's sister Norma and asked if he could tutor her in math despite her proficiency in the subject.
Peggy attended New Town High School where she was a majorette and serious student. She excelled in the classroom and was the Valedictorian of the class of 1961.
Peggy attended Oberlin College where she was a Political Science major and graduated in 1965. She spent her junior year studying abroad in Geneva, Switzerland.
She married Ron shortly after college graduation on July 17 of 1965 at the St. Moritz Hotel in Manhattan and they settled in Montreal where Ron was in medical school at McGill.
The greatest joy in Peggy's life was spending time with her family. She devoted herself to keeping in touch with family and friends near and far. Her most prized possessions were letters from and photographs of the most important people in her life. She saved legions of letters and took great joy in reading them.
Peggy was a profound lover of nature: plants, flowers, birds, trees, rivers, lakes and mountains never ceased to amaze her. She loved to travel with her family and explored the world with curiosity and enthusiasm.
She spent 15 years developing and running the Russian Emigre Resettlement Program at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, CA. She took great satisfaction in helping Jews from the former Soviet Union reconnect with their Jewish identity and faith.
Peggy passed away on November 15th at her home in Palo Alto, CA. She is survived by her loving husband of 59 years, Ronald Shapera, sister Joan Eisenberg (John), sister-in-law Norma Shapera, daughter Wendy Phillips (Matt), son Rob Shapera (Soreliz Ascanio), and grandson Jake Phillips.
She will be sorely missed.
Her funeral will take place at 1:00pm on November 18, 2024 at Hills of Eternity in Colma, CA
In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to HIAS: https://hias.org/ <https://hias.org/>
or POST: <https://openspacetrust.org/>
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