Frima "Timmy" Shapiro

Frima Lee “Timmy” Goldman was born on May 17, 1935 in Lewiston, Maine to Morris and Deborah Kaplan Goldman. She graduated Lewiston High School and majored in dietetics at Simmons College, where she graduated in 1957.

In 1955, she married Gilbert L. Shapiro. Family friends for years in Lewiston and Auburn, Maine, they began dating at Camp Lown in Maine, where they both were counselors. Together in Boston, Mrs. Shapiro attended Simmons College and Dr. Shapiro attended Tufts Medical. As Dr. Shapiro completed his residencies in surgery and orthopaedic surgery and a fellowship, Mrs. Shapiro practiced as a dietician at Beth Israel Hospital. Daughters Beth and Karen were born in Boston, and Ruth was born in New Bedford.

Dr. and Mrs. Shapiro moved to New Bedford in 1962, where she continued as a dietician at the New Bedford Jewish Convalescent Home. As she became involved in her daughters’ activities and schools, she took on leadership roles, eventually being elected to the Board of Directors of Friends Academy in North Dartmouth and serving as President.

Mrs. Shapiro had a long-time interest and passion for gardening, recalling how her mother had a Victory Garden and also grew roses. Dr. and Mrs. Shapiro moved to South Dartmouth in 1976, where she worked with Allen Haskell to design new gardens that continue to bloom and add color. In 1977, she joined the Garden Club of Buzzards Bay (GCBB), making life-long friends. She served as President of GCBB and as Zone I Chair, and held many leadership roles in Zone I. Mrs. Shapiro became a Garden Club of American (GCA) Horticulture Judge in 1994 and remained active with the judging program for more than 20 years, achieving emerita status. In the mid-1990s, she began serving the GCA at the national level, including GCA Vice President, Co-Chair of the 2006-2007 GCA Annual Meeting, National Chair of the Admissions Committee and of the Founders Fund, and Executive Board member for Long-Range Planning, Library, Flower Show, Scholarship, Visiting Gardens, Garden History and Design, and Nominations. GCA Zone I awarded Mrs. Shapiro with the Kitty Ferguson Zone Award and the Creative Leadership Award. She was also a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

Together with Dr. Shapiro, Mrs. Shapiro donated the Healing Garden at St. Luke’s Hospital. When the garden opened in 2008, Mrs. Shapiro noted that when the opportunity to help develop the Healing Garden arose, they became very enthusiastic to be involved in the project, as it was so important for the hospital to have this garden on the hospital grounds as a resource for patients and families.

Mrs. Shapiro contributed to the local community with her involvement with the Rotch-Jones Duff Historical Home, Waterfront Historic Area League, Buzzards Bay Coalition, Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, the Old Dartmouth Historical Society, Southcoast Community Foundation, and the Lloyd Center for Environmental Studies. She was a member of the Chilton Club in Boston and Tifereth Israel Congregation in New Bedford.

Mrs. Shapiro enjoyed her women’s tennis group for many years. She enjoyed travel with her family, and in the 1990s, she joined Dr. Shapiro on trips with the Orthopaedic Overseas division of Health Volunteers Overseas. As Dr. Shapiro taught local surgeons in the operating room and with lectures, Mrs. Shapiro taught nutrition to the local doctors and nurses in Bhutan; Song Be, Vietnam; Lima and Arequipa, Peru; and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. They also volunteered on the hospital ship SS Hope in northern Brazil.

Mrs. Shapiro is survived by her husband, Dr. Gilbert Shapiro; daughters Beth and her husband Roman (Ray) Lewyckyj of McLean, Virginia, Karen Shapiro of Needham, Massachusetts, and Ruth Shapiro of Salt Lake City, Utah; grandchildren Elise Lewyckyj Peck and her husband Samuel of San Francisco, California and Jonathan Lewyckyj of Chicago, Illinois; brother-in-law Stuart Cohen and his wife Carmen of Lewiston, Maine; sister-in-law Renee’ Rubin and her husband Jack of Auburndale, Massachusetts; and a niece and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, brother, Dr. Richard Goldman, and sister Elaine Cohen.

Donations in her memory may be made in her name to the Timmy Shapiro Fund at the Garden Club of Buzzards Bay, PO Box 80235, South Dartmouth MA 02748 or Tifereth Israel Synagogue in New Bedford, MA.

Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 11:00 AM in Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 145 Brownell Ave., New Bedford and will also be broadcast via Zoom.

For further information and a zoom link please see below.

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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84911224759?pwd=L3lUZUR5SFg2K0RvdEJ1OTVBeE1TZz09

Meeting ID: 849 1122 4759

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