David Shapell (February 4, 1921 – February 8, 2015) was a Polish-born American real estate developer and philanthropist from Los Angeles, California. A Holocaust survivor, he was the co-founder of one of the largest real estate development companies in Southern California. He supported Jewish charitable causes in the United States and Israel.
David Shapell | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Czapelski February 4, 1921 |
| Died | February 8, 2015 (aged 94) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Real estate developer, philanthropist |
| Spouse | Fela Shapell |
| Children | Rochelle Shapell Benjamin Shapell Irvin Shapell |
| Relatives | Nathan Shapell (brother) Sala Shapell (sister) Max Webb (brother-in-law) Vera Guerin (niece) |
Early life edit
David Shapell was born as David Czapelski on February 4, 1921, in Wolbrom, a shtetl in Poland.[1][2][3] His father was a goose farmer.[1]
During World War II, he escaped Poland and fought in the Polish army under Soviet control throughout the rest of the war.[2] By the end of the war, most of his family members had been murdered by the Nazis, except for one brother, Nathan Shapell, and a sister.[2]
Shortly after the war, he lived in Germany,[1] and emigrated to the United States in the early 1950s.[2]
Career edit
Shapell first worked for a relative who owned a grocery store in Detroit, Michigan, alongside his brother Nathan.[1]
In 1955, they moved to Los Angeles, California, and co-founded a real estate development company with their brother-in-law, Max Webb.[1] It became known as Shapell Industries, one of the largest developers in Southern California.[4] It was acquired by Toll Brothers in 2013.[4]
Philanthropy edit
He made charitable contributions to the Friends of the IDF, a fundraising organization for the Israel Defense Forces.[2] He also endowed the Darche Noam yeshiva and the Midreshet Rachel women's seminary in Jerusalem.[2] In 2006, he made a donation for the establishment of the David and Fela Shapell Family Shoah and Heroism Study Center for Youth at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.[5] Through the David and Fela Shapell Family Foundation, he has also endowed the David and Fela Shapell Digitalization Project at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.[6] He has also endowed the David and Fela Shapell Family Center for Genetic Disorders Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.[7]
He served on the board of trustees of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.[3] In 2013, he made a donation of $15 million to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., where The David and Fela Shapell Family Collections and Conservation Center is named in his honor.[3][8][9]
From 1979 to his death, Shapell, his wife and family paid an annual visit to Wolbrom or Auschwitz in honor of their relatives who were victims of Nazi Germany.[3][8] During those visits, they said Jewish prayers, also known as Kaddish, and lit candles in their memory.[3]
Personal life edit
Shapell was an Orthodox Jew.[1] He was married to Fela Shapell, a Holocaust survivor who was liberated from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the end of the war, for sixty-five years.[1][2] They had three children: Rochelle, Benjamin and Irvin.[2] They resided in Los Angeles, California.[3]
Death edit
He died on February 8, 2015, in Israel after battling lung cancer and pneumonia.[1] He was ninety-four years old.[3] He was buried at the Eretz Hachaim Cemetery near Beit Shemesh, Israel.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h Steve Chawkins, David Shapell dies at 94; immigrant was devoted to Holocaust remembrance, Los Angeles Times, February 26, 2015
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Jeremy Sharon, David Shapell, philanthropist and Holocaust survivor, dies at age 94, The Jerusalem Post, February 11, 2015
- ^ a b c d e f g David Shapell, developer and philanthropist, dies at 94, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, February 10, 2015
- ^ a b Andrew Khouri, Toll Bros. to buy Shapell Industries' home building unit, Los Angeles Times, November 7, 2013
- ^ The Inauguration of the David and Fela Shapell Family Shoah And Heroism Study Center for Youth, Yad Vashem, October 16, 2006
- ^ National Library of Israel: The David and Fela Shapell Digitization Project
- ^ Weizmann Institute of Science: David and Fela Shapell Family Center for Genetic Disorders Research
- ^ a b United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: The David and Fela Shapell Family: Securing the Past, Building for the Future
- ^ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: The David and Fela Shapell Family Collections and Conservation Center