Frances Shapiro

Frances Shapiro died peacefully surrounded by her family on June 29, 2025, two weeks after her 92nd birthday. Fanny Ebstein was born June 16, 1933 in Stuttgart, Germany, to Friedrich and Ilse Ebstein. Together with her parents and grandparents, Max and Hedwig Goldmann, she left Germany for the United States in 1937 to escape from the Nazis. Family legend has it that Friedrich was reluctant to leave Germany, but Ilse insisted, saying she would take Fanny herself. Family legend also has it that Max escaped later by skiing over the border to Switzerland. Once in the U.S., her name was changed to Frances, Fran for short, because Fanny had a negative connotation in American English. Fran spent her early years in New York City, where she was sent to "Fresh Air camp" in the summer due to her small size. After Friedrich received his American medical license, the family lived in rural Pennsylvania and Ohio at TB sanatoriums where Fran's father worked. They eventually settled in Columbus, Ohio, where Fran attended South High School and was a state spelling bee champion. Fran attended The Ohio State University, where she was a Block O member, and graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1955. She was awarded a Marshall scholarship to study for her master's degree at University of Exeter in England, where she met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, who accidentally elbowed her in the noggin. She then attended Indiana University for her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. It was there that she met the love of her life, Arnie Shapiro. They were married March 18, 1962. Fran had started as a professor in the English Department at OSU and helped Arnie get a job there. They remained teaching in the English Department for the next 30 years, where they made life-long friends and threw countless cocktail parties. They had two children, Eve and Daniel, and Fran was very active at Clinton Elementary, serving on the PTA and volunteering to teach German and poetry writing. Once her children started school, Fran returned to the English Department as a lecturer, teaching Freshman Composition and Technical Writing. She spent hours carefully grading papers, always using a green pen so students wouldn't feel that someone had bled all over their work. Fran actively supported many progressive causes, from La Leche League, Planned Parenthood, NOW and League of Women Voters to the ACLU, Amnesty International, and many environmental non-profits. Fran and Arnie enjoyed world travel and exploring different cultures, from Argentina to Egypt. They loved Europe, and led a group of OSU English students to Oxford. Once their six grandchildren were born, they started spending part of each year in San Francisco and Hawaii, where they attended countless baseball games and Hula performances, and helped with homework, especially writing assignments. After Arnie passed in 2013, Fran moved to Kapoho, Hawaii, where she was warmly embraced by Dan's family and friends, who affectionately refer to her as Oma. At 91, Fran was still walking on Hapuna Beach with her grandchildren, and enjoying the full moon at the Cliffs. We will all treasure Fran's lengthy handwritten letters and cards, never forgetting a birthday and being a faithful pen pal to many. She was an avid reader until the day she died. Fran had an amazing intellect but is best remembered as a kind, thoughtful, and deeply caring person who was loved and respected by all who met her. Fran is survived by her children Dan (wife Thea) of Pahoa, Hawaii and Eve Cervantez (husband Tom) of San Francisco; her beloved grandchildren, Lilah and Ella Shapiro and Joshua, Raphael, Benjamin, and Levi Cervantez and Goldman, Tooch, and DeJesus cousins, nieces, and nephews. If you wish, Fran would appreciate a donation to the Shapiro International Travel Fund scholarship at OSU (online number at OSU, 309620, or mail to Ohio State University Foundation, PO Box 736096, Chicago, Illinois, 60673), Southern Poverty Law Center, Doctors Without Borders, International Campaign for Tibet (Fran spoke to the Dalai Lama at night when she couldn't sleep), or a charity of your choice.