Obituary: Hyman Isaac Shapiro

Hyman Isaac Shapiro, 84, of Atlanta, Ga., passed away on Aug. 30, 2023. Born May 8, 1939, to Myer and Fannie Shapiro, Hyman was a first generation American on his father’s side, the youngest child within the only Jewish family of Wagener, S.C. As a teenager, he obtained his personal and formal Jewish education in Augusta, Ga., to which he traveled frequently for B’nai B’rith occasions and where he devoted a year to living with relatives for his bar mitzvah training. Until his married life, summers were happily dedicated to working as a counselor at Camp Blue Star in Hendersonville, N.C., and as a ‘relief busboy’ in the Catskills Mountains of New York.

As the only college graduate of his immediate family, he attended The University of Georgia, where he proudly graduated within 12 quarters and was an active member of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity. As a senior at UGA, he met Loretta Pike, his beloved and dedicated wife of 62 years.

To immerse themselves and their children within a more Jewish environment, ‘Hy & Lo’ moved to Atlanta to pursue his career in sales, most of which was dedicated to successful professional performances at Rich’s Department Store, 3M, and Artlite Office Supply. In addition to his enthusiasms for magic and American Presidential trivia, Hyman’s volunteer work served as an altruistic role model, contributing his time and energies to such organizations as the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Indian Guides, the Cub Scouts, AZA, Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, Camp Sunshine, The Temple, the Breman Museum, and Atlanta’s Pinchitter relief programs.

His amiable nature and gregarious personality will long be remembered by those whose lives he touched and genuinely enhanced.

Hyman is predeceased by his parents, Myer and Fannie Shapiro, and his siblings, Gerald Shapiro and Shirley Sonenshine. He is survived by his wife, Loretta Pike Shapiro; son and daughter-in-law, David Shapiro and Ilene Alter; daughter and son-in-law, Naomi and Larry Salberg; son, Matt Shapiro; and grandchildren, Alex, Charli, Dianne, Ferrin, Hannah, Max, Olivia, Ryan, and Scott. Memorial donations may be made to The Temple, Atlanta Community Food Bank, and Weinstein Hospice. The funeral was held Sept. 1 at Arlington Memorial Park with Rabbi Peter Berg, Rabbi Loren Filson Lapidus, and Cantor Emerita Deborah Hartman officiating. Arrangements by Dressler’s, 770-451-4999

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