Ingrid Pernwall Shapiro

Ingrid Linnea Pernwall Shapiro, 84, died peacefully Friday evening, August 10, 2012 at her home in Columbia, Tennessee, on the farm that she and her beloved husband purchased in 1964. She brought Swedish culture to many Columbians and will be remembered for her laughter and fun-filled life. All friends and family of Ingrid are invited to an open-house visitation and celebration of Ingrid's life, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. in the Parish Hall at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Columbia on Saturday, August 18, 2012, followed by a brief service in the church.The family extends special thanks to the Maury Regional Cancer Center, including Dr. Steven Woodley and all of the caring nurses and staff in the Oncology Department. The family kindly requests donations to St. Peter's Episcopal Church Landscape Fund, 311 West 7th Street,Columbia, TN 38401; Maury County Arts Guild, 705 Lion Parkway, Columbia, TN 38401; or Maury Regional Cancer Center, 1224 Trotwood Avenue, Columbia, TN 38401. Condolences may be extended to the family at oakesandnichols.com.On July 1, 1949, a tall, smiling, blue-eyed Swedish girl stepped off a ship in New York City. Like many Scandinavian girls of the era, Ingrid Pernwall had signed up for a two-year contract as an au pair, a live-in nanny, for a prominent family in America. At the time, the 21-year-old didn't expect to extend her U.S. stay for 63 more years. The summer prior, she had been employed at a furniture store in her hometown of BBoras Sweden. She was interested in visiting America and asked a co-worker if she knew of any au pair opportunities abroad. The lady recommended Miss Pernwall to Mrs. Ruth Aall, wife of Dr. Christian Aall, a Norwegian chemical engineer who worked at the Monsanto plant in Columbia, Tennessee. Ingrid was thrilled when the Aalls coordinated her all-expenses-paid travel across the Atlantic.On the long boat ride over, Ingrid wasn't shy. She befriended a group of Mormon missionaries and danced and dined every night. In New York, she visited the famous Coney Island. Then she boarded her first flight, the flight that would take her south to her new job and her new life.Working for the Aalls was demanding, but Ingrid enjoyed it. For $25 a week plus room and board, she would cook and clean and tend to the two Aall children; a third would arrive the following spring. She had evenings off, and in October 1949 a friend invited Ingrid to go on a double-date to the Brookwood Farms restaurant on Pulaski Pike. Her friend brought along a redhead named Jake, and Ingrid was paired up with Jake's buddy. But by the end of the night, Jake had declared his interest in Ingrid.For their first official date, Ingrid agreed to go to the Nashville fair with Jake Shapiro, or "Jakie," as she affectionately called him. Their subsequent dates involved many long walks, dinners and movies. Jakie taught Ingrid how to drive, and she tried to teach him how to dance, but she teased that "he always had two left feet."During this time, Ingrid's work visa expired. While the paperwork was being processed, she left the U.S. for 10 days and traveled to Cuba with a chaperone. Jakie missed Ingrid and didn't want to lose her. He proposed to her at Christmas in 1950. The happy couple married on June 17, 1951 at a little Episcopal church in Panama City, Florida. Her family was unable to make the trip from Sweden, but Dr. Aall was there to proudly give her away. The bride's dress was light gold and green, and she wore a big, floppy hat during the ceremony.Ten months later, Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro's first daughter Caren Ingrid Shapiro was born, and in 1954 Ingrid was expecting again. "I'm going to have twins," she insisted, but the doctor dismissed Ingrid's intuition until January 28, 1955. On that day, Ingrid indeed gave birth to twin girls, Patricia and Pamela Shapiro.Ingrid loved being a mother and was always involved in her girls' childhood activities. An accomplished seamstress, she found great joy in sewing dresses and outfits for her daughters. She was a swimming instructor for the American Red Cross, using the skills that helped her earn swimming and diving medals as a teen. Ingrid was also a respected Girl Scout Leader and a nature lover - birds, trees, plants, flowers - she knew them all. She loved gathering mushrooms and wildflowers in the woods, and she would fearlessly eat berries straight from the vine. "The rain washes them for me," she'd say.Ingrid admirably contributed to her community through frequent volunteer work and involvement in local groups. She was an active member of the Maury County Arts Guild, the Mayfield/Gray Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities, Columbia Christian Women's Club, Red Hats Society and Maury Regional Hospital Super Stars. She was a president of the Maury Regional Hospital Auxiliary and a co-founder of the Foreign Allied Club in Columbia, and she served as a board member for the Episcopal Church Women. She volunteered for the Riverside 4-H Club and the People's Table, as well as for many other programs over the years. She also enjoyed traveling the U.S. and Europe with the First Farmers & Merchants Bank Chairman's Club.For several years Ingrid attended painting classes, and her favorite medium was watercolor. Her handmade crafts include knitted pot holders, Christmas ornaments, laminated bookmarks, and pressed wildflowers. She generously donated her secret-recipe Swedish coffee cakes and homemade jams and jellies to raise charity funds for numerous bake sales. And perhaps Ingrid will be remembered best for donning her pretty hats in the pews of St. Peter's Episcopal Church."I hope Jakie's been taking dancing lessons in heaven," she once said, "because we're going to dance the waltz when I get there."Ingrid was preceded in death by her parents, Tora and Tore Pernwall of Boras, Sweden, and her husband of 51 years, Jacob Benjamin Shapiro, Jr.She is survived by her daughters, Caren (Joe) Voskuhl of Tuscaloosa, Ala. and Houston, Texas, Pat (Lewis) Inman of Columbia, Tenn., and Pam (Jimmy) Long of Summertown, Tenn.; brother, Sten (Inger) Pernwall of Boras, Sweden; and sister, Harriet Edensvard of Kinna, Sweden. Survivors also include her eight grandchildren, who all referred to their grandmother as "Mormor," meaning "mother's mother" in Swedish. Those families include Jason (Tammy) Voskuhl and son Michael Jasper of Broken Arrow, Okla.; Jake (Jennifer) Voskuhl and children Zoie, Skylar, Daisy, Shayne and Gage Voskuhl of Weston, Conn.; Jared (Courtney) Voskuhl and sons Dashel and Lucian Voskuhl of Davis, Calif.; Brittany Page Inman (Daniel Warren) of Charleston, S.C.; Chelsea Inman (Wayne Cardwell) of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Heather (Brett) Mitchell and sons Oskar and Oliver Mitchell of Medina, Tenn.; Kory Shapiro and sons Sam and Eli Shapiro and Sean and Dallas Brown of Hohenwald, Tenn.; and Jinger Brewer and daughter, Linnea Brewer of Summertown, Tenn. In addition, Ingrid leaves behind an aunt, several cousins, nieces and nephews, and many friends across America and in Sweden.Honorary pallbearers include Joe Voskuhl, Lewis Inman, Jimmy Long, Kory Shapiro, Jason Voskuhl, Jake Voskuhl, Jared Voskuhl, Ben Shapiro, Kile Patrick, Dr. William Haywood, Walter Main, Larry Turner, David Holmes, Brian Milkman, Don Marshall, Bob Sweeney, Cleo Mayfield and Reverend Tom Wilson.Oakes & Nichols Funeral Directors are assisting the family with the arrangements. .