Robert (Bob) Burnap Shapiro

Robert (Bob) Burnap Shapiro, 80, died at Lexington Park Assisted Living, Topeka, KS, on November 16, 2025. He was predeceased by his parents, Edward Martin Shapiro and Antionette Martha Post Shapiro, his brother, John M. Shapiro, and his wife, Elaine Janet O'Gara. He is survived by his brother, Louis Welles Shapiro (Nan Shapiro) of Silver Spring, MD, and eight nieces and nephews.

Bob was born on August 15, 1945 in Oak Ridge, TN where his father was working as part of the WWII Manhattan Project. The family subsequently moved to suburban Philadelphia, PA; Long Island, NY; Natick, MA: and Newton, MA. Bob attended Newton South High School where he played French horn. He matriculated at the University of Michigan as a music major, but switched to mathematics, an interest he shared with his father and brothers.. He received a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland.

He worked in a mathematics program for nursing students at Federal City College, DC (now part of the University of the District of Columbia), then returned to the Boston area to study accounting. He began a life-long love of international folk-dancing that led to meeting his wife, Elaine Janet Ogara. They were married on October 8, 1977 at a folk-dance themed wedding. Passing the CPA exam on the first try, he began a new job as accountant for the Dance Notation Bureau. Bob received a second master's degree in library science. He and Elaine worked for a time for the Brooklyn Public Library system.

Bob and Elaine hosted and led folk-dance groups for many years, becoming group leaders in cities from Austin to San Francisco and at their home in Topeka, Kansas. They taught at the Capper Foundation, adapting dances for people of all abilities including dancers in wheelchairs. They were awarded the Easter Seals Capper Foundation Founders Award in 2013 and Volunteer award in 2019. They were intrepid travelers in the US and abroad, finding local folk-dance groups to visit wherever they went.