Obituary of Alice Eileen Shaw

Alice "Pat" Shaw, 92, died of natural causes on Thursday, April 21, 2011 in Annapolis, MD, with her two sons at her bedside. She had been a permanent resident of a remodeled one-room schoolhouse on Route 26 in Greenville from 1953 to 2003. Along with her husband, Norman W. Shaw, former head of the English Department at Greenville Central School, she helped chaperone senior trips to Washington and junior class proms in the GCS gym. She and her family belonged to St. John the Baptist Church where she was active in the Catholic Daughters of America, the annual bazaar, and other projects. Friends noted her quick and caustic wit, but she was less well-known for quiet acts of charity to those in need: shopping for sick neighbors, giving rides to and from church, preparing and delivering meals to families in distress. As the middle child with six siblings, she had learned to share in her girlhood home, Brooklyn, NY, where she was born Dec. 19, 1918. She married in 1940, gave birth to her first son, Dennis, in 1943, and her second son, Wallace, in 1946. Both graduated from GCS during the reign of Principal Scott Ellis. In December 1988, Mr. Shaw died of colon cancer. She continued to live independently for the next 15 years until she became unable to drive. Her younger son moved her to a rental house near his home in Arundel by the Bay, south of Annapolis, MD. He visited her daily, took care of her shopping and laundry, and arranged her doctor appointments. In June 2009, Mrs. Shaw showed signs of diminishing skills so she moved to an assisted living community in Annapolis. Her older son, who lives 40 miles away in Silver Spring, MD, visited her there on most weekends. On Thursday, April 28, there will be a viewing from 4 to 7pm at A.J. Cunningham Funeral Home, 4898 SR 81, Greenville. On Friday, April 29, after a Mass at 11 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church, she will be interred next to her husband of 48 years in the Greenville Cemetery. Memorial donations to the Greenville Rescue Squad, P. O. Box 332, Greenville, NY 12083 will be appreciated. Light a candle at ajcunninghamfh.com.