Marc Shapiro

MARC NEAL SHAPIRO, age 58, died at the Rosenthal Hospice Residence on February 16, 2011 after a long illness. Mr. Shapiro was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa. After high school he attended The Ohio State University. In the summer of 1974 he began working at the Holiday Inn in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. He worked for a small hotel management company until 1981 when he joined Omni Hotels as vice president of product development. There, he was responsible for the architectural interior design and capital spending programs for the entire hotel chain. During his tenure at Omni, Mr. Shapiro was involved in more than 40 hotel projects. In 1989, he joined Loews Hotels as senior vice president with responsibilities for architectural interior design and capital spending programs. During his tenure at Loews Mr. Shapiro oversaw over $2 billion in hotel projects, most notably Loews Miami Beach Hotel, the three hotels at Universal Studios Orlando and Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego. After leaving Loews Hotels in 1999, Mr. Shapiro purchased the Ellen McCluskey Interior Design Firm in New York City and grew the design practice until he was no longer able to work in 2008 when he closed the practice. In the year 2000, Mr. Shapiro embarked upon the acquisition of a 280 room hotel property in Syracuse, NY. He arranged financing and totally repositioned the hotel property, reopening the hotel after a $22 million renovation program. The hotel, known as The Marx, anchored the city of Syracuse's redevelopment of the Syracuse University area. Mr. Shapiro is survived by his wife of 37 years, Evie, and his two children, Jami, age 33, a medical social worker in New York, and Lauren, age 30, a labor and employment law attorney in New York City. Mr. Shapiro is also survived by his parents, Ben and Betty Shapiro of Sioux City, IA and three siblings, Larry Shapiro of Omaha, Nebraska, Penny Swanson of Laurel, Montana, and Lynn Shapiro of Encinitas, California along with several nieces and nephews. He was a member of Temple Beth El where he briefly served on the Board of Directors. He served on the advisory board of Boston University's School of Hospitality Management for more than 15 years where he was also an adjunct professor for 5 years. The funeral will be on Friday, February 18th at 10:30 at Temple Beth El, 350 Roxbury Road in Stamford. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Temple Beth El or to the Richard Rosenthal Hospice Residence.