Vivian B. Shapiro, MSW, PhD, the beloved wife of Harold T. Shapiro, passed away on Many 29th, 2023 following a brave battle with a long illness. Vivian is survived by her husband, Harold T. Shapiro, and her four daughters, Anne (Joseph Kabourek), Marilyn (Ralph Schapira) Janet (Steve Eisenberg) and Karen (Susan Goodin), in addition to her eleven grandchildren, Joseph, Sarah Laura, Emily, Alex, Aaron, Teddy, Jared, Corey, Jacob and Sophia, and six great grandchildren.
Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Vivian first moved to the United States when her husband attended graduate school at Princeton University. The family then moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they lived until their return to Princeton in 1988, when Harold became the president of Princeton University. In Montreal, Ann Arbor, and Princeton, Vivian had many close friends and colleagues with whom she remained in touch throughout her life.
In addition to being a devoted wife and mother, Vivian earned her MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work in 1969. In 1970, Vivian joined the Child Development Project at the University of Michigan. There, her work with her colleagues led to new ways of work with parents and children, including early understanding of the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Vivian was a co-author, with her mentor Selma Fraiberg, and colleague Edna Adelson, of “Ghosts in the Nursery”; a groundbreaking article in the field of infant, child, and caregiver mental health. Ultimately, Vivian joined the University of Michigan School of Social Work and retired as an Associate Professor Emerita of Social Work in 1988.
In 1988, Vivian relocated to Princeton when her husband became the president of Princeton University. She continued her own work; earning her PhD in Social Work at Smith College in 1994, and continuing to explore new ways to support the wellbeing of children and families. In 2001, Vivian published a book entitled “Complex Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology: A Developmental Approach to Clinical Practice, which she co-authored with her colleague, Isabel Paret, and her daughter, Janet Eisenberg.
In addition to her devotion to her family and friends, and to her life’s work, Vivian was deeply involved in community services. As a board member of the “Children’s Home Society”, Vivian worked to introduce new approaches to infant and early childhood mental health to the organization. Vivian’s deep contributions to the Children’s Home Society were recognized in 2022 when the Vivian B. Shapiro Early Childhood Center was opened in Trenton, NJ.
The family wishes to express its gratitude to all who meant so much to Vivian during her life, and who did so much to support Vivian and her extended family through Vivian’s illness.
Private family services honoring the life of Vivian were held on May 30th, 2022.
Funeral arrangements are by Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel. For condolences, please visit OrlandsMemorialChapel.com
I remember Vivian as the vibrant, loving wife of Harold. Aside from her own involvement in Princeton community service and innovations in early childhood mental health, she lovingly supported Harold as the President of Princeton University for many years. Vivian, may you rest in peace.
Our memories of Vivian are of a warm and loving woman whose accomplishments in life were achieved while supporting a husband and nurturing an active family. She was able to manage all this with such easy grace. This is a woman whose memory will be treasured.
As cousins, we have been sharing wonderful memories of Vivian, , theirs from more recent years, mine mainly from childhood. We would all love to make donations to one of her favorite charities in honor of her, but none were listed in the obituary, so if such information is available and can be communicated, that would be wonderful. She was a very special person, which also came through in her writing with Selma Freiberg
Best wishes to Harold in dealing with this major loss.
Wes