Earl W. Shapiro ’61

At Princeton Earl attended the Woodrow Wilson School and was active on the Committee for Sane Nuclear Policy. He was especially proud of being part of a pioneering group that declined to bicker and founded Wilson Lodge, the precursor of many of today’s social alternatives to the club system. “I always liked that part of his character,” said his wife, Brenda.  

After finishing Yale Law School in 1964, Earl clerked and practiced in New York City until 1967, when he joined his family’s business, Maryland Cup. When the company was sold to Fort Howard Paper in 1982, he and his sons founded Prairie Packaging, which grew into a half-billion-dollar business.  

A committed philanthropist, Earl was president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago. He and his family were supporters of and donors to the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, the Art Institute of Chicago, and other Chicago-area nonprofits.

In addition to Brenda, Earl is survived by his sons, Matthew and Benjamin ’90; a daughter, Alexandra; and two grandchildren. We join them in their sorrow.