John Arnold Shaw

SHAW, JOHN ARNOLD
95, of Barrington, RI, passed away peacefully on Saturday evening, the 5th of November, 2016, surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
He spent his childhood on a small farm just outside of Grahamstown, South Africa. After moving to Cape Town to pursue an engineering degree at the University of Cape Town, he put his education on hold at the outbreak of WWII and enlisted in the South African Army. He subsequently served as an intelligence officer in North Africa and Sicily, first with the South African Air Force and then with the British Royal Air Force.
After the war, he returned to Cape Town where he finished his degree in Civil Engineering and met his beloved wife of 67 years, Patricia Fisher (1924-2015). He began working as an engineer on large water projects for the City of Cape Town. In 1956, disgusted with the apartheid regime in South Africa, he accepted a job with the Lock Joint Pipe Company, an American company later called Interpace Inc., and he and Pat moved their young family first to West Orange, New Jersey, then Maryland and finally to Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, where they would raise their three sons. He worked for Interpace until his retirement, including work on drinking water pipeline projects in Argentina, Israel, Chile, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa and Namibia.
After retirement, he and Pat moved to Tiverton, Rhode Island, and later to Barrington, where they remained until their deaths. He spent the latter part of his life pursuing his passions, which included sailing, carpentry, golf and bridge. Above all he dedicated his retirement to his family – he and Pat were constant fixtures in the lives of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He is survived by three sons and their wives, Alan and Maria Shaw of Colts Neck, New Jersey, Bruce and Judy Shaw of Providence, and David and Susan Shaw of Woodbridge, Connecticut; his six grandchildren, Becky, Julia, Johnny, Emily, Jackson and Eric; and three great-grandchildren, Katie, Alex and Simone.
There will be a memorial service and reception in his memory at the Providence Friends Meeting House, 99 Morris Avenue, Providence at 11am on Saturday, November 26. Memorial donations may be made to TAPIN, 281 County Road, Barrington, RI 02806.