Obituary of Arthur James Shaw

Arthur James Shaw, who happily retired to his beloved hot sands of Las Vegas in 1996, died suddenly but peacefully in his adopted hometown on Saturday, January 28, 2017. He was 95 years young. His manner of death was in keeping with his life's tradition of doing things his way: at his own speed and in his own style. His daughter, Bonnie Wells, and son-in-law, John Wells, were at his side. Art's wife, Evelyn, preceded him in death in 2014 after 71 years of marriage. He had spied her during their Depression-era high school days in Deepwater, Missouri, and married her in Orlando, Florida, just days before shipping overseas with the Army Air Corps (the precursor to the Air Force) during WWII. He proudly fought on the shores of North Africa after training in England on a make-shift airfield. Assigned to the 414th Night Fighter Squadron , he worked on radar for the night fighters - first on Beauforts (torpedo bombers), then on P-61 Black Widow Night Fighters. Art ultimately attained a rank of Technical Sergeant but rarely spoke of the war that helped shape his life. On June 1, 1945, he was honorably discharged and returned stateside to Evelyn where, together, they raised eight determined, headstrong children – two girls (Bonnie and Sally) and six boys (James, John, Michael, Joseph, Samuel and Edward). Never a man to settle for a simple life, Art graduated from college with an engineering degree in Missouri. He ran a chicken farm in the Ozark Mountains, worked as an engineer at Lockheed Martin and ultimately decided that one more winter of shoveling wet Missouri snow wasn't in his future. He and Evelyn drove west on Route 66 in a bid for a new life in Southern California, with a station wagon filled with children and everything the young family owned in a small trailer. It was after the move to southern California that Art realized engineering wasn't his destiny. A love of the law captured his heart so much that, while working full-time as an engineer, he opted to become a lawyer for the second phase of his life. For four long years, he attended Loyola Law School in Los Angeles at night after long days at work. Upon his graduation, he worked his way up through the ranks of criminal and civil law. Ultimately, Art settled his family in San Luis Obispo, California, where he became City Attorney. Later, he ran his own law firm focusing on solving environmental issues that plagued central coast cities such as Nipomo and Pismo Beach. Those who knew him in business remember him as an honest 'straight shooter' who always carefully researched his cases and fought hard for his clients. Art's children recall him as a strong, intelligent father who always wanted the best for them. Grandchildren will never forget their beloved grandpa who got up early and drove for hours on many Christmas Days just to watch them open presents. Others know him simply as their Papa who determinedly learned how to Skype so he could experience a boisterous Christmas morning one last time with his youngest grandchildren. Even younger great-grandchildren – now numerous – will forever hear tales of the independent, fiercely American patriarch who was unafraid to risk everything in a bid for a better life for his growing family. Art will be buried in a double urn within a single grave at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery with his beloved Evelyn, whom all knew as the love of his life. The urn was reworked from a jewelry box he purchased for Evelyn while stationed in Italy; grandson Eric Shaw fashioned the box into a single piece of maple so the couple could rest together in death as they had in life. Fit and independent until his last moments on earth, Art Shaw lived a fascinating, healthy life and was immensely proud of his greatest achievement – his family. We, in turn, are honored to call him Dad.