Lucyna Shenker (née Rozmaity) passed away peacefully in the home she curated and cherished on Tuesday September 22, 2026. A woman of infinite charm and megawatt smile, she is survived by her husband of 54 years, Yoram Shenker, three children, Dana Scheele (Todd Scheele), Anat Shenker-Osorio (Donaldo Osorio) and Ross Shenker, four grandchildren, Eliana, Shai, Natalie and Diego, and friends from across the globe.

Summarizing her accomplishments is an impossibility so let it suffice to say she made a good impression. A polyglot, she worked as a medical interpreter, bringing clarity and comfort to hundreds of newcomers over the course of many years. A lover of theater, she held various positions at what is now the Overture Center, working her way from volunteer, to usher, to House Manager. A dedicated Madison resident, she was known by name across the community for her encyclopedic knowledge of where to get the best of everything. Lucyna was a fashion icon – with a closet most would envy.

Born in Łódź, Poland in 1949 to Israel and Eugenia Rozmaity (née Pancer), Lucyna was many times over an immigrant, who lived in Denmark, Israel, Ann Arbor Michigan and eventually Madison. Her parents, Holocaust survivors, overcame extraordinary hardships to forge in their daughter an indomitable spirit, fierce intelligence, and easy wit. She graduated from Hebrew University in Jerusalem with a degree in economics to rise through the ranks at Bank Hapoalim (Bank of the Workers) as a loan officer in an era when very few women had such roles.

When she wasn’t in her own spectacular garden, she was devouring some work of fiction or traveling to new and favored places. Combining both loves drove her to seek out Anne of Green Gables’s Prince Edward Island and walk in Ross Poldark’s steps in Cornwall. She was equally at home in the sand of a summer beach as in the grandeur of an opera house.

If you were at her house you were eating, or being strongly encouraged to do so. Lucyna’s brunches and Thanksgivings were coveted invitations, with options for every course and guests speaking a variety of languages. Lucyna welcomed people into her home filled with treasures from her many travels and artisan crafts from her annual pilgrimage to Madison’s Art Fair.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you donate to one of her many charitable loves such as the Dane County Humane Society or Agrace Hospice, which took extraordinary care of her in her final weeks and boasts some of her favorite local consignment boutiques.

A memorial service will be held in Madison at a date yet to be announced in the spring.

Please share your memories below in the online guestbook.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service

3610 Speedway Road Madison

(608) 238-3434