Anthony Darrow Shapiro
December 29, 1957 - November 16, 2020
Obituary
Anthony Darrow Shapiro (Tony) was born December 29, 1957 in New York City to David and Carol Shapiro. He passed away after a brave hard-fought battle against brain cancer on November 16, 2020 in his home on Mercer Island. He and his wife, Deborah Alexander, were crazy about each other and their life together was overflowing with love and laughter. He was an amazing father and role model to his sons, Sam and Nathan Shapiro.
Tony was raised in Washington D.C. and attended high school at St. Albans. He was a graduate of Colgate University and later, Georgetown Law. Tony was an attorney of note in the Seattle area who built his career representing the victims of wrongful death, brain injury, and catastrophic personal injury, and supporting his law firm’s class actions in antitrust and consumer-rights law. Early in his career, he worked as a prosecutor for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office where he represented the state in serious felony cases. He was also a founding partner at Rohan Goldfarb & Shapiro and worked at Schweppe Krug & Tausend. Tony was also an instructor at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law.
Tony’s work embodied the true meaning of justice. He joined the law firm of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro in 2000 after working alongside the firm representing plaintiffs in the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation. He was recognized by both his legal adversaries and his colleagues for an earnest drive and dedication to his craft, as well as his inspiration by cases he found most challenging and most necessary in the fight for the underdog. Tony found great gratification in helping individuals during their most difficult times, and following many rigorous legal battles on their behalf, many of Tony’s clients became his lifelong friends.
In the courtroom Tony was at home. His honest, straightforward approach endeared him to judges, juries, and even the attorneys he opposed. While he was a staunch advocate for his clients, he was always a man of integrity. Some of Tony’s greatest admirers are those against whom he litigated.
To the attorneys at his firm, Tony was a mentor, an inspiration and a friend. Despite his remarkable achievements, Tony’s door was always open. He gave freely to others, particularly younger attorneys, his most valuable asset; his time. He prided himself on making those around him better people, not just better lawyers.
Tony was an avid sports fan who rooted with great zeal for the Seattle Seahawks, University of Washington Football, Seattle Mariners, Seattle Storm, and had planned on attending the future Seattle Kraken hockey games. He loved to travel and cook with his wife, Deb. Tony was strikingly handsome, charismatic, stylish, and current. Yet, he maintained his old-school traits of preferring to pay with cash, and he found ways to circumvent using technology when possible. He was known to enjoy a good old-fashioned bourbon drink and loved his date nights with Deb at local neighborhood restaurants around town.
Tony will be remembered as a man of great wit and compassion, ever looking out for the underdog, who loved both friends and family. He is survived by his loving wife Deborah Alexander, his mother Carol Shapiro, sons Nathan Shapiro and Sam Shapiro (Meredith Simons), grandson Walter Anthony Shapiro, whom he gleefully just met, ex-wife Karen Sparks, along with siblings Steve Greenfogel (Jane) , Claudia Taskier (Paul), James Shapiro (Cheryl Vitali), Miles Shapiro (Jill Walker), as well as step-mother Carolyn Shapiro, and step-children Trevor Alexander and Hayley Alexander.
A festive celebration of life will be held at a later date when it is safe to gather in numbers. We invite you to honor the life of Tony Shapiro by participating in a candle lighting ceremony in your own home on November 22, 2020 at 5:00 pm PST. Through this candle lighting ceremony we hope to light up our respective homes as Tony lit up our lives with love and inspiration. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Brain Tumor Center at UCSF (University of California San Francisco) custsvc@ucsf.edu or to the ACLU https://action.aclu.org/give/now
My heart is broken as I just discovered that Tony has passed. Condolences to his wife, twin sons, his Mother Carol, his sister Claudia & brothers James & Miles. I felt honored to live with them in Georgetown & have fond memories as I felt as though The Children were mine at the time while spending time with them at the ocean & using the vacuum to wake Miles up for school. How proud I was of them. Tony, being the eldest was a young gentleman & had a great sense of humor. Peace to his Family & Tony RIP young one.
My heart is broken!
I just heard the news of tony passing!
We had so much fun together!!
Tony always had me laughing, traveling and the best restaurants!
And the “old fashion” was his favorite!
Now mine and I think of him every time I’m sipping on a hearty bourbon!
He shared family stories with me and pre read his speech for his son sam’s wedding in New Orleans.
He will be missed by all!
Rest In Peace tony!