- Date Of Birth: December 30, 1922
- Date Of Death: March 18, 2015
- State: Connecticut
Estelle Shapiro Goodman, a lifelong resident of Middletown and one of the Shapiro family members that owned Shapiro’s Department Store, a landmark Middletown business for decades, died peacefully at the Middlesex Hospital Hospice Unit on March 18, 2015. Estelle, born December 30, 1922, was the fifth of six children of Harry and Rose (Schwartz) Shapiro. She was the last survivor of the six, and the first to be born at a hospital, and died at the same hospital 92 years later. Mrs. Goodman graduated from Middletown High School at the age of 16 and attended Simmons College and then the University of Connecticut, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1942. It was there that she picked up her nickname, Schitzie, after posting a sign outside her dorm-room saying “Schizophrenic at Work” to deter friends from disrupting her studies to seek advice on life, love, and what to wear. Estelle, also called Stelle, married Franklyn S. Goodman, originally from Hartford, in January 1948. After a six-week experiment living in Poughkeepsie, NY, the young couple returned to Middletown, where Frank joined the family business and Stelle worked part-time. They soon started a family, and raised three daughters, Dona, Lisa, and Marnie. In 1967, Stelle joined legions of other women entering the workforce full-time.
