Generations Speaker Series: Hedda Sharapan

Join the Holocaust Center for a talk by Hedda Sharapan, a descendant of survivors originally from Lithuania. Hedda will share a heartwarming Holocaust story about a father and son. This program is part of a series of events in 2025, commemorating the 80th anniversary of liberation, and in observance of Genocide Awareness Month in April.

About the Speaker:

Hedda Bluestone Sharapan grew up in McKeesport - but she and her sister Rena always felt that they grew up with one foot in Europe and the other foot in America. Because their parents, Ida and Charles Bluestone, were raised in Lithuania and didn’t immigrate until they married in 1936, their McKeesport household was embedded in the Old World Yiddishkeit. World War II connected the family back to Europe, which brings us to a unique Holocaust story of a father and son.

Hedda also has a unique Pittsburgh story, having worked with Fred Rogers and his legacy for 58 years. Currently she serves as a script consultant for the PBS highly acclaimed Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood for Fred Rogers Productions and as an advisor to the Fred Rogers Institute at St Vincent College. Over the years, she has spoken at hundreds of conferences and events across the country sharing what she’s learned from Fred Rogers. She has a master’s degree from the University in Pittsburgh in Child Development, and an honorary doctorate from St. Vincent College.

Hedda settled in Shadyside and has two daughters, Amy whose family lives in New Jersey and Laurie whose family lives in Chicago, and four grandchildren. In the past few years Hedda has been an active in the Jewish Grandparenting Network and stays in touch with old friends through the Facebook group “Growing Up Jewish in McKeesport.”

Host or Publisher Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh