Harriet Shapira

Shapira, Harriet (Koretz). It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Harriet, who at the age of 78 died peacefully at her home on January 22, 2025, after a long illness.

Harriet was born in Brookline in 1946 to Lee and Louis Koretz. She grew up in Dorchester with her mother and graduated from Jeremiah Burke High School. She married Herbert Shapira in 1969 and together raised four loving sons.

Harriet enjoyed her career in advertising, working alongside Herbert almost every day for over 30 years. Her magnetic personality made her a gifted salesperson. But her favorite roles in life were closer to home, as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and aunt, and her greatest joy was spending time with her family.

She lived life fully, talking often with friends, reading and participating in her book group, playing word games, going to the beach, watching her favorite shows, following politics, traveling around the country and internationally, and giving back to her community as a volunteer tutor for English learners. She will be remembered as a smart, funny, sweet, kind woman, whom her family and friends adored.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Herbert, and her sons: David of Brookline; Michael and his wife, Alicia, of Parkland, Florida; Daniel and his wife, Lauryn, of Ashland; and Andrew and his wife, Stephanie, of Jamaica Plain. She was the loving grandmother of Zachary and Aiden.

A graveside funeral service for family is planned. In lieu of flowers, donations in Harriet’s memory may be made to the Good Shepherd Community Care hospice or the American Cancer Society.