John 17:24 Jesus prayed--"Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."
I don’t know where I would start or stop in sharing about the
life of a dear friend, Dick Shaw. I
wanted to share these resources because Dick’s testimony has touched so many
people.
His obituary:
Richard Elden Shaw, age 85, left
this world and entered into the presence of his Lord and his loved ones in
Heaven on Thursday, April 16, 2015.
Richard Elden Shaw was born on April 19,
1929 in Chicago, Illinois where his parents, Harvey and Vera Shaw, were
studying for the ministry at Moody Bible Institute. On October 5, 1951 he
married Evelyn Gillow at Oak Grove Methodist Church, south of Burlington.
In 1937, Richard and his family
traveled to France for language study, and then to French Equatorial Africa
(now the Central African Republic) to serve as missionaries. In 1942, when
Richard was thirteen years old, the ship carrying his family home to America
for furlough was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. Richard's parents
and one sister, Georgia, died as a result of the sinking; and Richard, another
sister Donna, and seventeen others drifted for twenty days on a life raft in
the Caribbean Sea until their rescue. After living in various foster homes in
several states, Richard moved to Burlington, Iowa in 1945, and was hired at the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad shops in West Burlington as an
electrician apprentice. He was employed at the CB&Q and the Burlington
Northern Railroad for forty-four years, retiring as an electrician in 1989.
Richard joined the U.S. Navy in
1946 and was stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and on Midway Island. For the
next four years, he served on the destroyers USS Blue and USS Klondike, studied
and taught judo, and during his time on Midway also served as a firefighter.
Originally given his discharge in 1950, several months later Richard was
recalled as a reservist to serve in the Korean War. In that tour of duty, he
served aboard the minesweeper USS Symbol, and was a member of one of the Navy's
early underwater demolition teams that in later years would become the Navy
Seals. At the end of his service in Korea in 1952 he returned to Burlington,
his family and his job with the railroad; and in 1954 he received his final
discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserve. Several years later Richard began
studies through Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to become an
ordained minister. Receiving his ordination in 1962, he served several area
churches as an interim pastor, and for four years he ministered as a chaplain
the prison in Mt. Pleasant. Richard also served as a chaplain in several area
nursing homes, led many home Bible study classes, and preached in numerous area
churches and schools, sharing the story of his experiences and of God's mercy
and grace in his life. Richard was a member of Harmony Bible Church and also
attended Burlington Baptist Church, was a member of the Burlington Civil War
Roundtable, and chaplain of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp #1759. He
also was a member and chaplain of the Railroad Retirees Club. Richard enjoyed
following the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, visiting with friends at the
Hungry Bear restaurant and in the GRMC cafeteria and spending time with his
grandchildren. After retiring, Richard and Evelyn enjoyed traveling to North
Carolina and spending time at the coast.
Survivors include his wife of 63
years, Evelyn Shaw of Burlington; his children, David (Jan) Shaw of Coralville,
Iowa, Nancy (Mark) Spell of Timberlake, North Carolina and Ruth (Bryan) Hobbs
of Burlington; his grandchildren, Andrew (Hilary) Wilkinson, Alicia Houston,
Nathaniel Houston, Kara Houston, Jared Shaw and Evan Shaw; six
great-grandchildren, Paige, Tate, DaVeion, LaRiyah, Kaydnce and Max; his
sister, Donna (Bill) Taylor of Conway Arkansas and nieces and nephews.
In 2012, I posted video clips on Dick’s 70th
anniversary of being rescued at sea.
A few years ago he told his story to our congregation on a
Sunday evening. The mp3 can be
downloaded from burlingtonbaptistchurch.org
click here http://burlingtonbaptistchurch.org/System/Media/Play.asp?id=51422&Key=1ACB0F52-78BF-409D-97E4-42D5BA592544
**(the video on the left is the funeral service)
You can read about his journey at sea:
(paperback 224 pages) In Peril on the Sea: The Story of Ethel Bell and Her Children Mary and Robert (Jaffray Collection of Missionary Portraits)
( Kindle edition 8.99 ) In Peril on the Sea: The Story of Ethel Bell and Her Children Robert and Mary
( used paperback 359 pages) In Peril On The Sea
Other articles: (click on the titles to take to the articles)
( articles/interviews from Dick's sister )
