Yiddish, Broad was assigned to a third-grade class. Within a year, however, he was able to attend high school; seven years after he spoke his first word of English, he had earned a law degree from New York Law School. “When you’ve got no money and nothing except a rather decent head on your shoulders, the
thing to do is to use your head,” he said. A visit to Miami in the late 1930s introduced him to the area’s pleasant climate and myriad business opportunities. Returning to New York, he told his wife, Ruth, that they should move to Miami. Her response: ``You’re crazy. You don’t throw away bread to look for cake.’’ But they did, and they moved to South Florida in 1939, where he became known for his real estate savvy as both an attorney and investor. Shepard built and developed the Town of Bay Harbor Islands, where he served as mayor for 26 years. The Shepard Broad Causeway spanning Biscayne Bay is named in his honor. He founded American Savings & Loan Association of Florida, which became one of the largest and premier banking organizations in Florida. In 1946, he founded the law firm of Broad and Cassel. In 1979, Shepard was awarded the Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans.
Shepard upon his arrival in Montreal from Europe in August 1920 with his sponsor and HIAS volunteer, Adolph Stark, who found Shepard in detention in Quebec City.
During Shepard’s lifetime, he was a generous supporter of Israel and the Miami Jewish community through the Greater
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