Marie Shaw

Marie was born on May 30, 1933 in Macon, Georgia, and died on December 8, 2012 in Austin, TX. She was preceded in death by her mother Elvie Locklin, her father T. Elbert Locklin, her sister Lois Locklin, and her brother Bruce Locklin.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Stephanie and Matthew Meldrum, her sisters Jeanette Collins, Ruth Locklin, and Eleanor Arnold, and her nieces and nephew Karen Arnold, Lucy Balch, John Collins, and Susan Sly, and great-nieces and nephews Jason, Danielle, Kyle, Emily, Logan, Sean, Zoe, and Charly.

Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, December 15, 2012 at 3 pm at St. George's Episcopal Church (1431 North IH-35, Austin, TX 78722), followed by a burial service at Palm Valley Cemetery in Round Rock, TX. A reception will follow at St. George's as a celebration of Marie's life.

The family requests that donations be sent in lieu of flowers to Hospice Austin (http://www.hospiceaustin.org) or the St. George's Episcopal Church Memorial Fund (http://www.sgchurch.org).

Marie was fiercely devoted to her mother, and she enjoyed spending time with her sisters while growing up. She loved animals from an early age, helping to care for them at home growing up, and continuing to enjoy the companionship of wonderful pets throughout her life.

She was a true social butterfly, and almost always enjoyed a full dance card. She was a graduate of Miller High School in Macon, GA, and was an active participant in the theater program, playing the lead in at least one production. She enjoyed swimming, and was featured as a bathing beauty in a story about the local pool one summer.

She attended college at Mercer University in Macon, GA, where she was an active member of Alpha Delta Pi.

In her early twenties, Marie spread her wings and soared off to a new adventure in Denver, Colorado. She enjoyed sharing an apartment with her sisters, playing duplicate bridge, and working at some very interesting jobs.
She loved to tell the story of one of her jobs that included event planning duties - including organizing an annual jazz party that featured musicians from across the country.
While playing duplicate bridge, Marie met the man she would marry - Van Earl Shaw. They were married for many years, and had one daughter - Stephanie Meldrum.

Marie enjoyed being a stay-at-home mother while Stephanie was young, and she was very active as a Girl Scout leader, room mother, and classroom volunteer. She was always willing to take on new adventures, such as leading a group of girls in making homemade macramAC. planters - even though she disliked handicrafts, and frequently reminded the girls that she had failed the sewing portion of Home Economics.
When Stephanie was in Junior High School, Marie returned to college - completing her Bachelors of Science in Education. She began to teach first and second grade, and always believed that was the job she was born to do.
She enjoyed teaching students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, and prided herself on her ability to think outside the box when helping them to catch up on skills with which they were struggling.

In the early 1980's, when Marie's mother became elderly and needed assistance, she brought her from Georgia to live with her and her family in Colorado.
She was devoted to her mother, and with the support and assistance of her sister Jeanette and daughter Stephanie she cared for her until her death in 1997. During this time, Marie moved from Colorado to Nashville, where she served as a nanny to two small girls.
From there, she moved to Memphis, TN, where she took a break from working outside the home so that she could care for her mother full-time. She returned to teaching when she moved to Dallas, TX.
Upon her retirement from full-time teaching, Marie continued to work with children as a substitute teacher. She was proud of her ability to engage students in learning, even though she was only with them for a short time.
Although her Christian faith had always been an important and integral part of Marie's life, she found a very deep connection with a church family at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas.
She was part of a ladies' Sunday School class that not only worshipped together, but played together.
She and her friends enjoyed playing cards, attending cultural events, and most importantly, being there to support one another through the easy and difficult times in their lives.

Marie moved to Austin to be close to her daughter Stephanie after she began experiencing significant health challenges at the beginning of 2010. She found a wonderful home at Parson's House Austin, where she made many wonderful friends.
In January of 2012 Marie came to live with Stephanie and Matt after another health challenge, and during this time they enjoyed each other's company and made many wonderful new memories.
She also became a parishioner at St. George's Episcopal Church during this time - coming to love a new and sometimes different way of expressing her faith in God. When the time came to discuss what she wanted for her final arrangements, she wanted Rev. Kevin, the Rector at St. George's and the percussionist in her daughter and son-in-law's band (in which she was the honorary shaker player) to conduct her service.

One memory that will always be a favorite for Marie's family was her decision to act on her lifelong wish to be a torch singer by asking Matt and Stephanie to assist her in singing on the street for tips.
She set up shop on South Congress with her "Marie and the Bucket List" sign, and gathered quite a crowd of enthusiastic and generous listeners. Not only did people admire her music, they admired her courage, spunk, and zest for life.
Marie was cared for beautifully, respectfully, and lovingly by the staff of Christopher House Hospice during her last week of life.
She was surrounded by the love of family and friends, and was comfortable and at peace. Her daughter Stephanie and her sister Jeanette were privileged to be with her as she went to be with God.

Rest in peace, Marie, and know that you are missed and loved.