Born July 8, 1932    |   Brest-Litovsk (Brisk), Poland

Died February 1, 1981   |   Calgary, Canada

Harry taught his children the importance of being a leader, not a follower.

Heniek was the second son born to Fela and Israel Szapiro. The windows of their café were smashed in a 1937 pogrom and again the following year. When German troops invaded Poland in 1939, the Szapiros fled to Pinsk, Poland (now part of Belarus) which soon fell under Soviet rule. Stripped of their possessions, they were confined to a settlement. After the Nazis unleashed Operation Barbarossa, the family was smuggled east on a lumber raft bombarded by German planes. Heniek’s father died of malaria as the rest of the family—weak with malaria and typhus—made their way to Samarkand, Uzbekistan. There they saw thousands of refugees, many lying dead in the streets. Heniek and his brother Sevek found refuge at a school for Polish children.

Following the war, the Szapiros met Herman Zoberman on a train bound for Poland; he later married Heniek’s mother. After living in several places including Displaced Persons camps in Germany, Heniek, Fela and Herman immigrated to Canada when Jewish Member of Parliament Leon Crestohl obtained an order-in-council and visas for the family. In Montreal, Harry—as Heniek was now known—worked in a grocery store before moving to Edmonton, where he bought and sold cars and worked in an amusement park. He later opened Jasper Jewellery, married Calgarian Betty Goldstein and opened Harbets Jewellery. In the early 1970s, Harry co-owned the Banff Cascade Inn. In 1974 the Shapiro family moved to Calgary, where Harry bought the Majestic Inn. When a wave of Russian-Jewish immigrants began arriving, he assisted Jewish Family Services by offering free room and board. Harry was outgoing, intelligent and kind. His untimely passing was devastating to all who knew him. His children Shauna, Cara and Randy each named their first-born sons after him. Harry’s legacy grew to include eight grandchildren.