Jay Shaw

Jay Shaw, age 78, passed away April 1st at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. Jay was born in Nebraska in 1942. He spent his childhood and teen years in Hayes Center, Nebraska. As a teenager, Jay was an accomplished musician, playing the clarinet with virtuosity. He attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln on a Regent's Scholarship. It was during this time that Jay met the love of his life while on a road trip to New York City. He stopped in Ohio at the urging of a mutual friend who thought Jay just had to meet Blossom. Jay did not continue to New York, choosing to spend the remainder of his vacation in Ohio with Blossom. From that point forward, Jay and Blossom were nearly inseparable. They were married in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 5th, 1965. They eventually returned to Nebraska where they tried their hand at farming in Hayes County for a year before they moved to eastern Nebraska. In 1972 they settled in Iowa City where Blossom was accepted into the famed Iowa Writer's Workshop. Jay took a job with Iowa Vending. He eventually purchased the vending company and over the years grew it into a prosperous business. Jay was a pilot and enjoyed flying a single-engine plane around the Iowa countryside and occasionally on cross-country trips. He was also a radio control airplane pilot and was a member of the Iowa City Aerohawks. Jay was an avid reader, writer, and a ubiquitous note taker, seemingly never without a pen and one of his signature note pads. He also loved music, especially classical music, and his favorite musician was Blossom. Jay and Blossom were blessed with two children, Eric and Alisa. Jay was immensely proud of both children and loved to play games and spend time with them. He aided and encouraged them to pursue their interests. In 1996, tragedy occurred when Eric was wrongfully killed by a police officer while working in his sculpture studio. Jay and Blossom were devastated by the loss of their son and the injustice surrounding his death. Jay and Blossom diligently sought justice for Eric, and also endeavored to place Eric's beautiful sculptures where they could be enjoyed by many. Thanks to their commitment, Eric's sculptures are on display at institutions including the Krasl Art Center, the Peoria Riverfront Museum, the Goldman-Kuenz Sculpture Park, and the Dubuque Arboretum. Jay began a second career in retirement, working for the New Pioneer Food Coop and became a fresh produce specialist. Another of Jay's retirement pursuits was bicycling with Blossom to have breakfast or lunch in one of the many small towns near Iowa City. Every summer they would also take their bicycles to picturesque small Midwestern towns, like Lanesboro, Minnesota or Galena, Illinois, for a long weekend getaway. There were also many cross-country drives to Fort Collins, Colorado to visit Alisa and her family. Jay was a doting grandparent. Jay's last year of life was tinged with sadness at the loss of his beloved wife Blossom in February 2019. Jay faced some health issues over the last year, but he remained active right up to his surgery for bladder cancer in February of 2020. It was complications from this surgery that ultimately claimed his life. Jay was preceded in death by his father Ernest Shaw, and his mother Mary Shaw, his son Eric, and his wife Blossom. He is survived by his daughter Alisa, son-in-law Dan, and granddaughters Molly and Fiona of Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as his sister Phyllis Felker of Hayes Center, Nebraska, and brothers James Shaw of Brookfield, Wisconsin and Jerome Shaw of Denver, Colorado. Due to the restrictions place on gatherings due to Covid-19, no memorial service is planned at this time. His ashes will join Blossom's at a beautiful Iowa tallgrass prairie, a landscape they both loved.