Gertrude Horowitz Shavin passed away on Friday, May 15, 2020, at the age of 99. A resident of Leesburg, Virginia only in the last decade, Gerte did live here part-time for the last thirty years, volunteering for Lyndon LaRouche's political, cultural and philosophical efforts.

Born in New York City of Latvian Jewish parents, Gerte completed a Master's Degree from Columbia University, married her soul-mate, Seamour, and moved to Chattanooga in 1948. The two sought out Frank Lloyd Wright to design a house that would put a stamp upon their marriage, as to the power of beauty in shaping everyday life. It is thought that Gerte was the last surviving, original owner, still in possession of her Wright home after sixty-eight years.

Activism for civil rights led to an early involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks at Highlander Center in 1957. Bomb threats against her home and family failed to back her down. A President of the League of Women Votes, the head of Chattanooga, TN's Presidential campaigns for Eugene McCarthy and for George McGovern, she stood as  an Elector for LaRouche in every one of his Presidential campaigns, from 1976 to 2004.

Over the last fifteen years, she most loved her daily presence in the LaRouche PAC organizing office, where she could listen in on the spirited discussions and phone calls of citizens engaged in debate and policy-shaping. Her modesty, her grace, her passionate love of the human race, and her stubborn optimism radiated amongst all the volunteers, up until two months ago – when only a pandemic could finally chase her out of the office.

Gerte survived beyond her four sisters and beloved husband, and is survived by her three children, their three spouses, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She will be buried alongside her husband, in the Workman Circle's Cemetery in Chattanooga, TN. A memorial will be held at a future date in Leesburg, VA. Until then, a fitting memorial would be to read John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn," from whence her favorite sermon is drawn, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all/ Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."