George J. 'Jerry' Shaw Jr., champion of employees
George Jerome (Jerry) Shaw Jr. passed away peacefully Wednesday, June 1, 2016, in Cincinnati, Ohio, surrounded by his family.
Jerry leaves behind his beloved wife of nearly 54 years, Barbara Eileen Shaffer; two children, Dr. George J. Shaw III (Anna) of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Susan Shaw McWilliams (Bruce) of Burke, Va.; 12 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and four sisters.
Born in Helena, Mont., Nov. 16, 1940, Jerry graduated from St. Martin’s High School in Lacey, Wash., in 1958, and from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., in 1962. Immediately after college, Jerry served as an officer in the U.S. Army, flying MedEvac helicopters in Vietnam and elsewhere. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross Oct. 7, 1964. He subsequently attended St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, Texas, graduating with honors in 1970.
Right after graduation, Jerry moved his family to the Washington, D.C. area, to begin working for the Internal Revenue Service in the Office of Chief Counsel, specializing in labor law. In 1974, he was promoted to branch chief, and in March 1976, he became director of the General Legal Services Division.
Deeply troubled by the treatment of federal employees in general, and members of the Senior Executive Service in particular, Jerry co-founded the Senior Executives Association in 1980, serving as its first president from 1980-82.
In that role, and over the next approximately 20 years as SEA’s General Counsel, Jerry worked tirelessly on behalf of federal employees. His accomplishments include the last move home for senior executives relocated during their careers, beneficial provisions enacted in the FERS retirement system legislation, fall back rights for executives caught in a reduction in force, increased agency bonus pools, reimbursement of executives and managers for half of the cost of their professional liability insurance, and restoration of the Presidential Rank awards to their original value.
In 1982, Jerry became a partner in private practice, eventually founding the law firm of Shaw, Bransford & Roth, which specializes in federal employment law. That same year, he helped form the Public Employees Roundtable, serving as its chairman. Beginning in 1985, PER partnered with other organizations to begin Public Service Recognition Week, an annual celebration honoring those serving as federal, state, county and local government employees, which continues to this day.
He was a founder of the Federal Employees Education & Assistance Fund in 1986. Among other things, FEEA provides scholarships to civilian federal and postal employees and their families, grants, and no-interest emergency loans. Since its inception, FEEA has provided more than $13 million in scholarships and $12 million in emergency financial assistance.
In addition to his other contributions, Jerry took on the Federal Dispute Resolution Conference to provide quality training for federal employees when the responsible agencies could no longer manage it, serving as its chair for many years, and authored several books for federal employees.
Jerry continued serving others after moving to Lewes. He was ordained a Catholic deacon for the Diocese of Wilmington Sept. 25, 2004. In that role, he taught religious education classes, celebrated Mass, presided over weddings, baptisms, and funerals, and served the needy.
An avid Redskins fan, Jerry enjoyed playing golf and cheering on his beloved college basketball team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. His enthusiasm, idealism, and laughter will be greatly missed.
A funeral Mass will be held Monday, June 13, at 1 p.m., at St. Edmond Church in Rehoboth Beach where friends may visit beginning at noon. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Dagsboro.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to FEEA at www.feea.org/jerryshaw.
Arrangements by Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes.
Please visit Mr. Shaw's Life Memorial Webpage and sign his online guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com.
