SHUPAK, Jacob

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ January 29, 2008 Jacob Shupak, 86, departed this life at sunset Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007, with his beloved family by his side. He was born Dec. 25, 1921, to Russian immigrants Katie Mittnick and Morris Shupak in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The family eventually settled in Philadelphia where Jacob attended South Philadelphia High School and later became a brakeman and mechanic for the Pennsylvania Railroad before joining the Army Air Corps during WWII. He served his country from 1943 to 1945 in the South Pacific Theater flying 36 harrowing missions over Japan including landing on Iwo Jima as a tail-gunner in the B29 Superfortress. After the war, Jacob attended technical school in Amarillo, Texas, where he received training in radio-electronics. He met his future wife, Vivian Pilch, at a USO dance. They were married in 1947 and had their only child, a son Robert, in 1952. Shupak worked for a number of years for General Electric, and later had a television repair business and retail store selling clothing, automobiles and televisions. He and his wife followed their son Robert and his wife Jane to Carefree where Jacob actively pursued his radio-control hobby and hiking. He lost his wife Vivian in 2000 after 53 years of marriage and shortly after followed his son and daughter-in-law to live in Greer where he started a radio-control club in the nearby town of Springerville. Recently Jacob left the high elevation mountain village and relocated to the Sedona area where he found many new friends. He began attending Torah reading sessions at the local synagogue and continued to share his love of radio-control with children in the community. Jacob was a great father, friend, patriot and human being who will be sorely missed. A memorial service was held Sunday, Jan. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Sedona Winds Retirement Home by Rabbi Alicia Magal. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to a charity of choice in his memory. Jacob Shupak will rest in peace at Arlington National Cemetery.