ST
JOHNS CEMETERY, MAURY COUNTY, TENNESSEE
SHAPIRO, Ingrid Linnea Pernwall, 23
Jan 1928 - 10 Aug. 2012.
Ingrid Linnea Pernwall Shapiro, 84, died peacefully Friday evening, August 10,
2012 at her home in Columbia, Tennessee, on the farm that she and her beloved
husband purchased in 1964. She brought Swedish culture to many Columbians and
will be remembered for her laughter and fun-filled life.
On July 1, 1949, a tall, smiling, blue-eyed Swedish girl stepped off a ship in
New York City. Like many Scandinavian girls of the era, Ingrid Pernwall had
signed up for a two-year contract as an au pair, a live-in nanny, for a
prominent family in America.
At the time, the 21-year-old didn't expect to extend her U.S. stay for 63 more
years. The summer prior, she had been employed at a furniture store in her
hometown of Bor�s, Sweden. She was interested in visiting America and asked a
co-worker if she knew of any au pair opportunities abroad. The lady recommended
Miss Pernwall to Mrs. Ruth Aall, wife of Dr. Christian Aall, a Norwegian
chemical engineer who worked at the Monsanto plant in Columbia, Tennessee.
Ingrid was thrilled when the Aalls coordinated her all-expenses-paid travel
across the Atlantic.
On the long boat ride over, Ingrid wasn't shy. She befriended a group of Mormon
missionaries and danced and dined every night. In New York, she visited the
famous Coney Island. Then she boarded her first flight, the flight that would
take her south to her new job and her new life.
Working for the Aalls was demanding, but Ingrid enjoyed it. For $25 a week plus
room and board, she would cook and clean and tend to the two Aall children; a
third would arrive the following spring. She had evenings off, and in October
1949 a friend invited Ingrid to go on a double-date to the Brookwood Farms
restaurant on Pulaski Pike. Her friend brought along a redhead named Jake, and
Ingrid was paired up with Jake's buddy. But by the end of the night, Jake had
declared his interest in Ingrid.
For their first official date, Ingrid agreed to go to the Nashville fair with
Jake Shapiro, or "Jakie," as she affectionately called him. Their subsequent
dates involved many long walks, dinners and movies. Jakie taught Ingrid how to
drive, and she tried to teach him how to dance, but she teased that "he always
had two left feet."
During this time, Ingrid's work visa expired. While the paperwork was being
processed, she left the U.S. for 10 days and traveled to Cuba with a chaperone.
Jakie missed Ingrid and didn't want to lose her. He proposed to her at Christmas
in 1950.
The happy couple married on June 17, 1951 at a little Episcopal church in Panama
City, Florida. Her family was unable to make the trip from Sweden, but Dr. Aall
was there to proudly give her away. The bride's dress was light gold and green,
and she wore a big, floppy hat during the ceremony.
Ten months later, Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro's first daughter Caren Ingrid Shapiro was
born, and in 1954 Ingrid was expecting again. "I'm going to have twins," she
insisted, but the doctor dismissed Ingrid's intuition until January 28, 1955. On
that day, Ingrid indeed gave birth to twin girls, Patricia and Pamela Shapiro.
Ingrid loved being a mother and was always involved in her girls' childhood
activities. An accomplished seamstress, she found great joy in sewing dresses
and outfits for her daughters. She was a swimming instructor for the American
Red Cross, using the skills that helped her earn swimming and diving medals as a
teen. Ingrid was also a respected Girl Scout Leader and a nature lover � birds,
trees, plants, flowers � she knew them all. She loved gathering mushrooms and
wildflowers in the woods, and she would fearlessly eat berries straight from the
vine. "The rain washes them for me," she'd say.
Ingrid admirably contributed to her community through frequent volunteer work
and involvement in local groups. She was an active member of the Maury County
Arts Guild, the Mayfield/Gray Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society,
Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities, Columbia Christian
Women's Club, Red Hats Society and Maury Regional Hospital Super Stars. She was
a president of the Maury Regional Hospital Auxiliary and a co-founder of the
Foreign Allied Club in Columbia, and she served as a board member for the
Episcopal Church Women. She volunteered for the Riverside 4-H Club and the
People's Table, as well as for many other programs over the years. She also
enjoyed traveling the U.S. and Europe with the First Farmers & Merchants Bank
Chairman's Club.
For several years Ingrid attended painting classes, and her favorite medium was
watercolor. Her handmade crafts include knitted pot holders, Christmas
ornaments, laminated bookmarks, and pressed wildflowers. She generously donated
her secret-recipe Swedish coffee cakes and homemade jams and jellies to raise
charity funds for numerous bake sales. And perhaps Ingrid will be remembered
best for donning her pretty hats in the pews of St. Peter's Episcopal Church.
"I hope Jakie's been taking dancing lessons in heaven," she once said, "because
we're going to dance the waltz when I get there."
Ingrid was preceded in death by her parents, Tora and Tore Pernwall of Bor�s,
Sweden, and her husband of 51 years, Jacob Benjamin Shapiro, Jr.
She is survived by her daughters, Caren (Joe) Voskuhl of of Columbia, Tenn., and
Pam (Jimmy) Long of Summertown, Tenn.; brother, Sten (Inger) Pernwall of Bor�s,
Sweden; and sister, Harriet Edensv�rd of Kinna, Sweden. Survivors also include
her eight grandchildren, who all referred to their grandmother as "Mormor,"
meaning "mother's mother" in Swedish. Those families include Jason (Tammy)
Voskuhl and son Michael Jasper of Broken Arrow, Okla.; Jake (Jennifer) Voskuhl
and children Zoie, Skylar, Daisy, Shayne and Gage Voskuhl of Weston, Conn.;
Jared (Courtney) Voskuhl and sons Dashel and Lucian Voskuhl of Davis, Calif.;
Brittany Page Inman (Daniel Warren) of Charleston, S.C.; Chelsea Inman (Wayne
Cardwell) of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Heather (Brett) Mitchell and sons Oskar and
Oliver Mitchell of Medina, Tenn.; Kory Shapiro and sons Sam and Eli Shapiro and
Sean and Dallas Brown of Hohenwald, Tenn.; and Jinger Brewer and daughter,
Linnea Brewer of Summertown, Tenn.
In addition, Ingrid leaves behind an aunt, several cousins, nieces and nephews,
and many friends across America and in Sweden.
Honorary pallbearers include Joe Voskuhl, Lewis Inman, Jimmy Long, Kory Shapiro,
Jason Voskuhl, Jake Voskuhl, Jared Voskuhl, Ben Shapiro, Kile Patrick, Dr.
William Haywood, Walter Main, Larry Turner, David Holmes, Brian Milkman, Don
Marshall, Bob Sweeney, Cleo Mayfield and Reverend Tom Wilson.
All friends and family of Ingrid are invited to an open-house visitation and
celebration of Ingrid's life, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. in the Parish Hall
at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Columbia on Saturday, August 18, 2012,
followed by a brief service in the church.
The family extends special thanks to the Maury Regional Cancer Center, including
Dr. Steven Woodley and all of the caring nurses and staff in the Oncology
Department. The family kindly requests donations to St. Peter's Episcopal Church
Landscape Fund, 311 West 7th Street,Columbia, TN 38401; Maury County Arts Guild,
705 Lion Parkway, Columbia, TN 38401; or Maury Regional Cancer Center, 1224
Trotwood Avenue, Columbia, TN 38401.
Obituary courtesy of Oakes &
Nichols Funeral Directors sent here by Mary Bob Richardson 24 Jun 2005