A native of Brooklyn, NY, Dennis earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Electrical Engineering. We met just as I was graduating Harvard Law School, and for 56 years, we made Boston our home, later also residing in Nantucket and Los Angeles. Dennis was dedicated in all he did, including helping people live more safely, building companies that made a difference and patenting new inventions. His patents included innovations in motion detector technology (Artitech Corp) and the premier emergency response alert (Lifeline Systems), that has saved countless lives and to this day enables elderly people and others with medical needs to live independently.
Dennis was a passionate pilot, sailor, ice dancer, fisherman, skier, Ham Radio operator, philanthropist and so much more. He was also an avid collector of Presidential letters. He recently donated his collection to the Huntington Library, creating The Shapiro Center to advance scholarship for American culture and history.
Most importantly Dennis loved his family and adored his children, Aliza, Rachel and Zachary, his son-in-law Ron Galperin, and his grandchildren, Sasha Mandel, Benjamin Shapiro, and Maya and Eli Shapiro-Galperin.
Dennis was a long-serving and Emeritus Board Member of Congregation Shirat HaYam and a lay leader for many Shabbat services. He was also a big proponent of supporting Israel experiences for youth.