William (Bill) Shanok died at home with his family on March 13 after a long, brave battle with cancer. He was 78.
He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. at the Jewish Hospital, and was raised by his parents during World War II. The family’s stand-alone home in Borough Park would soon house three children: Bill, his sister Judy and little brother Danny.
A proud Brooklyn boy who played stickball with the neighborhood kids, 15-year old Bill saw his irreplaceable Dodgers leave for Los Angeles. He turned his attention instead to classical music, school and a future at his father’s Glass Laboratories company, which was moving into the emerging industry of plastics manufacturing. The company would come to be known as Silvatrim, with Bill eventually serving as president.
He graduated from Brooklyn Tech with certificates of excellence in chemistry, physics and mathematics. He then attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute and graduated in 1964 with a degree in chemistry.
On his debut visit to Martha’s Vineyard, Bill met the love of his life, Susan Whiting, and they began a whirlwind courtship. The two eloped right after their respective Massachusetts college graduations and set off on a European honeymoon that coincided with the plastics shows that his work required.
With his bride, Bill bought and revived a dilapidated brownstone in Chelsea, tamed a wild property in Chilmark, built around a relocated Menemsha fishing shack and began raising a family of four cherished children who would grow to be dubbed the Shanok tribe.
He traveled the world with his family, introducing them to the cultural and culinary wonders it held.
Bill lived every day as a new adventure, and found happiness in life’s simple pleasures; walking his precious collies in Menemsha, brush-cutting on his tractor, and fishing, as long as it was on someone else’s boat. He was an accomplished, nationally-ranked skeet shooter who shared his skill with budding shooters. He was a fan of opera, classical music, golden oldies and Yiddish stories.
He was affable, gregarious and generous with his time, helping neighbors and strangers alike, whether it was engineering a DIY solution, or keeping an eye out for something “neat” that someone needed. In short, he was a mensch.
He was predeceased by his cherished son Gabe in 2010 and his wife and best friend Susan, who died last year.
He is survived by his three daughters, Tory Dolan, Sarah Kitchens and Tovah Shanok, their spouses, and five treasured grandchildren: Emma, Katie, Will 3rd, Gabriel and Hazel.
Bill and his beloved Susan will be interred at Abel’s Hill on Sept. 11, followed by a celebration of their lives at the Chilmark Community Center.
Donations can be made to the Island Food Pantry.
