Paula Pillote Shafer passed peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones, on December 15, 2024, in Miami, Florida, at the age of 67, due to ovarian cancer. Born on December 16, 1956, in Rockford, Illinois, she called Hudson, Ohio, her home before retiring to Key West, Florida, and Traverse City, Michigan.

She was a proud alumna of the University of Illinois, where she met her husband of 46 years, David. They were blessed with one daughter, Kirstin. A lifelong educator, Paula touched many lives as a French teacher at Roswell Kent Middle School in Akron, Ohio, before becoming an administrator for Akron Public Schools. Paula was rarely found without a good book, a glass of wine, and one of her cherished dogs.

Paula’s parents, Vernon and LaVerne Pillote, preceded her in death. The privilege of loving and mourning her lies with her devoted husband, David Shafer, her beloved daughter, Kirstin Shafer, her siblings Sharon Stacy, Delphine Kranz, Lawrence Pillote, and Jennifer Worley, their spouses, many nieces and nephews, and her sister-in-law, Martha Shafer.

A celebration of life will be held in the summer of 2025, with details to come. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, Akron Public Schools Project Rise, or the Florida Keys SPCA.

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