At Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, we believe that all our residents contribute something meaningful to the life of our communities.
For the past several years, residents of Westminster Place personal care community in Oakmont have been blessed to know a resident who survived Hitler’s European concentration camps and shared freely about those experiences.
This resident was Sam Shear.
Captured by the Nazis before his 13th birthday, Sam Shear survived five brutal years in Hitler’s European concentration camps in the 1940s. His parents and younger sister died in the gas chambers in Auschwitz.
Sam eventually immigrated to America, settling in the Pittsburgh area, where he learned to speak English, met his wife, started a family, and had a long, successful insurance career.
Sam was often troubled by bad dreams of what he witnessed during the Holocaust. But he kept a charming sense of humor and loved to share stories and jokes about all his experiences as a newcomer to the United States.
To learn more about Sam’s Holocaust experience, you can read a history written by Sam’s granddaughter Margo Shear Fischgrund at https://www.at.pitt.edu/news/living-history. Or view the Seton Hill University documentary about Sam at https://youtu.be/ZiH5zLwKIVs.
Sam and his wife, Belle, were married for 72 years. Sam died on December 15, 2024, just before his 99th birthday, and Belle died in May 2024. We are honored that Sam and Belle chose Westminster Place for their final years.
Close-up of the 1945 photo showing Sam Shear. Only 28 of the original 1,600 detainees who were forced to march from the Buchenwald concentration camp survived when they were liberated by U.S. soldiers at the town of Liebenau, Germany.
Sam’s family growing up in Poland in the 1930s. Only Sam and his younger brother Leon (second from right) would later survive the Nazi concentration camps.
Sam and Belle Shear at Westminster Place. They were married for 72 years and have three children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Sam was often troubled by bad dreams of what he witnessed during the Holocaust. But he retained a charming sense of humor and loved to share stories and jokes about all his experiences in the United States.
Sam cheerfully participated in professional photoshoots and video interviews organized by Presbyterian SeniorCare Network. Here is a photo of Sam with team member Donna Scafuri.
