Roderick K. Shaw Jr.

SHAW, Roderick K. Jr., 79, passed away peacefully in his sleep at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa July 6, 2008. A native of Quincy, he was a graduate of Quincy High School, class of 1946, and of Davidson College, class of 1951, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Rod first met his wife of 53 years, Floride, at an Honor Society luncheon. Rod and Flo were married in Tallahassee in 1951 after he graduated from Davidson. Subsequent to his graduation, he and Flo moved to Gainesville, where he attended the University of Florida College of Law. His law school education was interrupted by service in the Korean War. Flo' s cheerful, newsy letters boosted his morale during his service on the front lines in Korea. During his service in the Army, he fought in the battle of Triangle Hill (Korea) during mid- and late- October 1952. As the commander of I-Company, he led a company-sized diversionary raid on the foothill of Hill 1066 November 1, 1952. He later served in battalion headquarters as advisor for the battalion commander S-1, 3rd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment during winter and spring 1952-53. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Korea and concluded his service as the rank of Army captain, and was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve in 1958. He and Flo moved to Tampa in 1955, following his graduation from law school at the University of Florida. Rod practiced law with the firm of Allen, Dell, Frank, and Trinkle in Tampa. He primarily worked as a corporate lawyer representing the Florida citrus industry. A notable product of his corporate work was lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to require food labels on all orange juice products, to enable consumers to distinguish 100 percent orange juice from 10 percent orange drink imitations. Modern-day food labels listing the ingredients of food products in grocery stores are a direct result of his legal practice. Following his success with food labels, his label model was mandated industry-wide and is now on all food labels. He maintained a lifelong passion for architecture and furniture. He showed his hobby via his woodcarving of Georgian era chairs and his consultation on the design of the new chancel of Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church. He was a member of Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, and Tampa Yacht and Country Club. He is survived by his daughter, Floride "Reedi" Massey, and son-in-law, Steve Massey of Tallahassee, son, Roderick Shaw, and daughter-in-law, Kathleen Shaw, of Madison, grandson, Roderick, grand-daughter, Carolyn Floride Shaw, his sister, Mary McMillan of Quincy, and numerous cousins, nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his wife, Floride Wilkinson Shaw, and his parents Roderick K. Shaw Sr. and Elizabeth (Dibby) Shaw of Quincy. The funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 12, at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa. The graveside service will take place at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 13, in the "Old Western" cemetery in Quincy, Fla. Visitation in Quincy will be after the graveside service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the FSU Autism Project, Attention: Donation/ Autism Project, 625 B N. Adams St., Tallahassee, FL 32301, 1-800-769-7926 or (850) 644-4367. Please sign the online guestbook at www.blountcurry. com