1917 – 2016

WORCESTER, Mass. — Sherman George Shapiro of Worcester, Mass., and Scarborough, passed away peacefully Friday, Dec. 30, with family at his side.

He was born in 1917. Nicknamed “Sonny” for his sunny disposition, he celebrated his 99th birthday on Dec. 3. A native and longtime resident of Auburn, and a 1935 graduate of Edward Little High School, he studied chemistry at Bates College and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boston University.

Before college, Sherman worked at J.J. Shapiro & Bro., the family’s dry goods and furnishings store, founded in 1892, serving the New Auburn neighborhood for more than 60 years.

He was a certified public accountant and partner with his brother in the accounting firm of Ernest M. Shapiro & Co., Lewiston. During World War II, he was a Maine state accounting executive for the Office of Price Administration, which, in one instance, required an in-person hearing for a requested one-cent increase for services of a small Northern Maine laundry. Sherman served as an Internal Revenue agent with the U.S. Treasury Department. He was director of the Central Maine Division of Northeast Bank and a director of Northeast Bankshare Association, the bank’s parent company, before being elected chairman of the board of directors of Northeast Bank, Portland. Later, he was chairman of Merrill/Norstar Bank of Maine that merged with Fleet Financial, where he continued on the Maine board of directors. Fleet then merged with Bank of America.

He was a member of the governing body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, past chairman of the Maine Board of Accountancy, past president of the Maine Society of CPAs, receiving its Lifetime Achievement Award, and past president of the Northeastern Association of CPA Examiners. He was a member of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

He was president of the Lewiston-Auburn YMCA and facilitated the creation of Temple Shalom Synagogue-Center of Lewiston/Auburn and became its treasurer. Sherman served on the National Alumni Council of Boston University and taught several accounting courses to members of the Androscoggin Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Banking. He administered the Maine State Board of Accountancy examinations. He volunteered in the Lewiston/Auburn Kiwanis Club and could be found flipping pancakes and pouring coffee at its annual Foodtown breakfast.

He was an avid outdoorsman and golfer and tended his fruit trees and backyard vegetable gardens where pumpkins and squash proliferated. Sherman played competitive tennis, winning doubles championships in many state of Maine tournaments. He enjoyed world travels for business and pleasure. He was a local Mason and Kora Shriner.

He enjoyed the beach and ocean setting at his Pine Point, Scarborough, residence and was fond of barbecuing, often entertaining his friends and family, regaling them with humorous stories. For many years, he wintered in Boca Raton, Fla.

He is survived by his daughter, Susan Williams, husband, Robert, and grandchildren, Charlotte, Samuel and Sarah of New Jersey; his son, John (Jack), wife, Jeanne, and grandson, Nathan, of Massachusetts; and his son, Gary, of New York. He leaves many cherished nieces, nephews and cousins.

Sherman was predeceased by his beloved wife, Charlotte (Cominsky), his parents, Jacob and Goldie (Aronson), brother, Ernest, sisters, Helen Bean, Selma Blatt, all of Auburn, and Leah Weinsier of New York.

Condolences may be shared with Sherman’s family at www.thefortingroupauburn.com.

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