James "Pastor Jimmy" Shaw

James M. Shaw Sr. "Pastor Jimmy" of Davenport Florida, slipped his earthly bonds to be with his beloved Savior on December 15th, 2012. He is survived by his devoted wife of 53 years, Phyllis Shaw (Friend) and his five children; Annette Anderson (Don), James M. Shaw Jr. (Laura), Sue Riley (Carl Jr.), Steven Shaw (Lisa), Christian Shaw (Carrie). He was also a loving Grandpa to 16 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. Jimmy's incredible story began in Somerset Pennsylvania as the oldest of seven children born to James "Red" and Laura (Stern) Shaw. James and Laura took their little baby on a vacation to Mississippi where friends and family convinced them to stay and not return to Pennsylvania. In the sultry sun of Mississippi, the family grew to include Jimmy's little brothers and sisters Mary, twins Tommy Jack & Julia Rose aka "Jack & Jill" followed by Carl. Life for Jimmy and his family in Mississippi was a rough life where they washed clothes in an open pot on the stove and as a treat Jimmy would occasionally grab an onion from the cupboard and hide under the porch to enjoy his snack. After 11 years in Mississippi the Shaw family ended up in central New York State where Jimmy's final two sisters, Sara Jean and last but not least, his baby sister Cindy was born. Jimmy fondly recalled many, many times regarding his life in New York reporting on walking 50 miles up hill both ways to school in a snow storm, while barefoot. Jimmy's sister Mary cautions that he had been known to exaggerate just a bit. What is confirmed is that at the vulnerable age of 14 Jimmy moved out of the family home to work on a nearby farm so that there would be one less mouth to feed around the table and he also gave half his farm wages of 50 cents a week to his family to help them make ends meet. Time marched onward and thenone fateful day as a freshman in high school, the self-assured "country boy" met a beautiful sophomore "city girl" named Phyllis and in due time the Shaw family tree began to sprout a whole new branch. On August 15th 1959, Jimmy and Phyllis were married. As a wedding present, Jimmy's father, James G. Shaw gave he and Phyllis a full tank of gas in the family car, and instructed them to go away for their honeymoon, at least as far as a half a tank of gas could take them. The next day Jimmy and Phyllis used the other half of the tank of gas for the return trip back home. As a young, happy, couple Jimmy and Phyllis began building their family marked with the arrival of 5 children; Annette, James Jr. "Jamie", Susette "Susie", Steven "Stevie", and Christian "Chris". Jimmy had always been a hardworking man and some of his many jobs included, among others, working at a slaughter house, then in the meat department of a grocery store where he worked his way up to manager. It was always important to Jimmy that Phyllis was able to stay at home with the kids so he often worked two and three jobs to provide for his growing family. Jimmy returned to the slaughter house for a second period of time when eventually his cousin James Turman informed him about a job as a truck driver for Outboard Marine Corporation. Jimmy landed that job and moved his family to Illinois. It was while living in Illinois that Jimmy met the Lord and his hard working hands and big heart finally found their purpose. For 41 years Jimmy served his Heavenly Father in whatever direction he was led. At the age of 70 Jimmy was ordained as a pastor for Four Corners Baptist Church in Davenport Florida. Visitation for Pastor Jimmy will be held Wednesday morning December 19th 2012 from 10:00 - 11:00 followed by a memorial service from 11:00-12:00 at the Four Corners Baptist Church in Davenport Florida. Four Corners Baptist Church 125 Cottonwood Drive, Davenport Florida, 33837. Another visitation and service will take place in Gurnee, Illinois on Friday, December 21st, 2012 from 4:00 - 5:00 PM followed by a memorial service from 5:00 - 6:00 PM at Warren Funeral Home, 1475 North Cemetery Road, Gurnee, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, Pastor Jimmy's family requests that donations be made to either the Four Corners Baptist Church Retro-Fit fund or the American Heart Association. Four Corners Baptist Church http://www.4cbc.org/ American Heart Association http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Giving/Giving_UCM_001137_SubHomePage.jsp