Esther Winkler Shapiro, RN, PhD papers and memorabilia

Esther Shapiro (nee Winkler) was born in New York City on April 29, 1920. She grew up in Flushing, Queens and earned a BS in Chemistry from Queens College in 1941. She then enrolled in The Mount Sinai Hospital School of Nursing, graduating with her RN diploma in 1944. Following her graduation, she enlisted as a nurse in the U.S. Army with the rank of Second Lieutenant.
She began active duty on February 1st, 1945. After basic training at Fort Dix, NJ, she spent two months at Thomas M. England General Hospital, a wartime hospital in Atlantic City, before being transferred in late April to the 317th General Hospital, then based out of Seattle. Upon arriving in Seattle in early May she was sent on a temporary assignment to the 147th General Hospital in Hawaii, where she spent several weeks before returning to the 317th in late July. In August, the 317th General Hospital shipped out for Japan, arriving in Yokohama on the U.S.S. Repose in late September. In late October she was assigned to the 76th Station Hospital, also based in Japan. She remained there until late February 1946, when she was sent back to the United States. She spent the remainder of her service at Fort Dix, receiving an honorable discharge in December 1946.
In 1947 she married Norman Shapiro, from whom she was later divorced. The couple settled in Colorado. In 1951 she received an MA in psychology from the University of Denver, and in 1961 she received a Ph.D. As a child psychologist specializing in the needs of children with hearing disabilities, she served for many years at The Children’s Hospital, now Children’s Hospital Colorado, in Denver. She also maintained a private practice and served on various state child welfare committees. She passed away on May 29, 2009.