A longtime member of Easton’s Jewish community and the last surviving founder of the Talbot County town’s Temple B’nai Israel, Eunice Shearer passed away on Wednesday, July 29.
She would have turned 97 next Friday, Aug. 7.
A Baltimore native, Shearer was the daughter of Oscar and Goldie Boin. She attended Forest Park High School and graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in early childhood education.
While at college, she met Morton L. Shearer, a native of Easton. They married shortly after her graduation, on Feb. 12, 1950, and moved to Easton, where Morton Shearer’s family owned the business Shearer the Jeweler, at 22 N. Washington Street.
The retail jewelry and repair store was started in 1926 by Morton Shearer’s watchmaker father, Abraham, and closed last year.
“In those days, before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was built, the Eastern Shore felt worlds away from Baltimore, and to Eunice’s family, it was as if she had moved to the other side of the country,” Shearer’s family wrote on the website of Sol Levinson & Bros. “As a young bride, Eunice hoped to pursue a career as an early childhood education teacher, but there was no kindergarten program in Easton at the time. Instead, she joined her husband and mother-in-law at Shearer the Jeweler, where she became an indispensable part of the business for more than six decades.
“Whether ordering merchandise, managing the books, or helping generations of customers, Eunice’s warmth, kindness and welcoming smile became hallmarks of the family business.”
Besides being among the founders of Temple B’nai Israel in September of 1951, Shearer served in leadership roles in the synagogue’s sisterhood and women’s club.
In addition, she served on the board of Friends of the Talbot County Free Library, and volunteered at Easton’s Academy Art Museum, Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Partners in Care, the Waterfowl Festival and Talbot Hospice. She also volunteered in kindergarten classrooms at Easton Elementary School.
In her spare time, Shearer enjoyed gatherings with family and friends, playing card games and traveling around the world.
“She will be remembered for her extraordinary kindness, unwavering gratitude, quiet generosity and deep love for her family and friends,” wrote her family. “Throughout her life, Eunice possessed a remarkable gift for making others feel valued. She never missed a birthday or anniversary, faithfully sending cards that reminded family and friends they were loved and remembered. It was one of countless small acts of kindness that reflected her generous spirit.”
Shearer is survived by her children, Ann Beth Shearer, Stephen Marc Shearer (MaryKay), and Sara Shearer Koch (Christopher); her granddaughters, Kendall Shearer Schrage (Matt), Rachel Koch Manning (Taylor), Emily Morgan Shearer, Hanna Koch Vietor (Tommy), and Melanie Ryan Destieux (Raphaël); and her great-grandchildren, Heyward, Beau, and Caroline Manning, Charlotte and Summer Schrage, and Lisette and James Vietor.
She is also survived by many nieces and nephews, as well as her sister-in-law, Tootsie Eisenberg.
Shearer was predeceased by her husband and parents, her sister, Bette Dahne, and her great-granddaughter, Margot Vietor.
Interment will be held on Friday, July 31 at 11 a.m. at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery, 318 Berrymans Lane in Reisterstown. A celebration of life will be held at Temple B’nai Israel at a later date.
Contributions in Shearer’s memory can be made to Talbot Hospice, 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, Maryland 21601, or Temple B’nai Israel, 7199 Tristan Drive, Easton Maryland 21601, or the charity of your choice.
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