Patsy Dunn Shanberg

Patsy was born on December 28th, 1929 and passed away on
April 14th, 2025 at the age of 95Patsy Dunn Shanberg died peacefully in her sleep on April 14, 2025. The story of her life-embracing ever more family and friends-is reflected in her full name: Jacquelin Noreen Patsy Breslauer Glazer Dunn Shanberg.
Jacquelin Noreen Breslauer was born in Milwaukee, WI in 1929. Somehow, she was nicknamed "Patsy" as a toddler and the name stuck. When she was eight years old her father, Daniel Breslauer, died suddenly and her mother, née Beatrice Wayne, moved back to her native Kansas City. Patsy grew up with the love of her mother's family and remained in KC for almost her entire life.
Patsy spent most summers visiting her grandmother and family in Milwaukee-especially her first cousin Polly, who was always like her sister. However, the first summer after her father died, Patsy and her mother visited an uncle in California who had a swimming pool. Patsy could only float and found herself in trouble at the deep end. Luckily, a not-yet-famous actor was also sitting poolside, and Ronald Reagan jumped in to save her.
Patsy's name and family grew again when her mother married widower Louis Glazer. Jacquelin Patsy Glazer gained a younger sister Betty Glazer, older brother Melvin Glazer, and a whole new set of relatives with whom she is still connected.
She acquired her love of theater as a child. Her mother, known professionally as Bea Wayne Glazer, directed radio dramas and cast Patsy in some of the productions. Patsy was especially proud of her pre-teen role in a Resident Theater drama. As an adult she continued to enjoy parts in community theater, as well as directing plays as a member of local Jewish women's organizations.
Patsy completed a year of college at the University of Nebraska, where she joined the Sigma Delta Tau (SDT) sorority and made a new set of lifelong friends. Then in 1949, she returned to Kansas City to marry her Southwest High School sweetheart, Sanford M. Dunn, and to actively join his family. Patsy Glazer Dunn kept expanding her circles of friends as a young mother, with daughter Debbi and son Danny. She joined National Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah, and Beth Shalom Sisterhood, and formed numerous bridge groups.
Although Patsy grew up in the Reform tradition at B'nai Jehudah, she served Beth Shalom congregation for 30 years. At first, she and Sanford were active in the Young Couples Club and as youth group advisors. In 1961 she began teaching drama as a creative elective in the Sunday School.
In 1968 she became the Youth Director responsible for the teen USY and LTF programs, and the pre-teen USI group. As Youth Director she engaged many parents and congregants as volunteers to produce events ranging from the synagogue's annual Purim Carnival to the 1982 Midwest regional USY Kinnus convention in Kansas City. At the same time, she empowered young people to take leadership and responsibility in planning their own programs, especially with activities that reflected their passion for social justice in the 1960's.
In 1981 she took on additional responsibilities as Program Director for the congregation, which at the time had 1,500 member families. Her stated goal was to make such a large congregation feel "haimish," like a warm Jewish family, by creating multiple smaller interest groups and involving hundreds of members annually. Working with lay committees she organized major fundraisers including performances by Marvin Hamlisch, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Itzhak Perlman.
In 1985 she was able to hire a Youth Director and focus fulltime on the needs of adults and the synagogue's social action work in the community. For example, she developed two social groups for singles and one for Empty Nesters, trips for seniors, a tree-planting project in the inner city, a Russian immigrant resettlement program, and the Lechem (bread) Project for congregants to serve on a regular schedule at St. Mary's Food Kitchen.
She was bereft in 1988 when Sanford died unexpectedly. She not only lost her love, her best friend, her guide and partner of more than 40 years-for the first time in her life she lived alone. Her many, many friends and family surrounded her and she continued developing new programs for Beth Shalom.
Patsy always maintained her interest in public affairs. When she heard about a citywide program to bring people together from different backgrounds, she was eager to participate. "Dinner for Eight" assigned groups of four diverse couples to host each other for dinners in their homes. Robin Winner, Beth Shalom's social action chairperson, suggested that her newly widowed father, Arnold Shanberg, could help Patsy host.
Surprisingly, the only person who showed up at Patsy's house that night was Arnold. Of course, they knew each other. Arnold was a past synagogue president, they were former neighbors, and both were saying kaddish after the loss of their beloved spouses. Once again Patsy was incredibly lucky in love and became Patsy Dunn Shanberg in 1990.
Her close family now included Arnold's three children-Robin Winner, Kent Shanberg, and Neil Shanberg (one of her past USY presidents)-and their spouses and children. She was over-the-moon delighted as her five children brought more grandchildren, their spouses, and great-grandchildren into her arms.
Arnold and Patsy traveled, played bridge, and had great fun together. They also shared an affection for giraffes, as gentle animals that symbolized "sticking your neck out" to help others. Always active in the community, Patsy even devoted time to serving as co-president of the local chapter of Brandeis Women. She and Arnold made sure to blend their extended families and their very wide circle of friends. Patsy's large community supported her when she suffered another great loss when Arnold died not long before their tenth anniversary.
To help her cope, Patsy later formed "the six pack" of six widows who hosted each other for Friday night Shabbat dinners. She filled her life with celebrating all her kids' sports and plays, b'nai mitzvah, weddings, and new babies. She decided when it was time to move from a home with stairs, to an apartment, to senior living, and when to give up her car. Three years ago, she moved to assisted living in New Jersey to be near Debbi, husband Steve, and her local New York/New Jersey family.
In December 2024, the entire family gathered from all across the country to celebrate Patsy's 95th birthday. Patsy was thrilled to share personal time with members of each generation as they partied and toasted her. Today every family member cherishes the gift of these joyful, recent memories.
Patsy leaves her five children Robin Winner, Kent Shanberg (Allegra Shanberg), Debbi Dunn Solomon (Stephen Solomon), Neil Shanberg (Liz Kundin), and Danny Dunn (Susie Dunn); her nine grandchildren Becca Winner, Meredith Winner, Jordan Dunn (Eduardo Shlomo Velazquez), David Shanberg (Cheryl Rafsky), Rachel Simon (Alex Simon), Brian Sanford Solomon (Liyan Chen), Clara Kundin (Kyle MacLeod), Pamina Buechner, and Sarah Ann Solomon; and seven great-grandchildren Jaxson Rosenberg, Maya Rosenberg, Addison Winner, Hazel Libby Kundin-MacLeod, Kai Philip Chen Solomon, Noe Jacqueline Chen Solomon, and Levi Shanberg.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a charitable donation to support a social justice cause that was meaningful to Patsy such as organizations that serve teens, gun violence prevention, and voter registration, or whatever you think will help repair the world.