Jim Shaw went home to be with the Lord on July 17, 2018 after a short bout with cancer. He was born in 1923 to Harold and Helen Shaw, and spent his early years in Baird, TX. During the Depression, his father abandoned his family, and Jim and his mother moved to La Monte, Missouri to live with his grandparents. When Jim was 15, he moved to Independence, Kansas where he lived with his aunt and uncle and cousins. He attended junior college in Independence, and then transferred to UT in Austin where he joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Howard Parker, who would later be co-founder of Parker and Parsley, was his room-mate, and they became life-long friends. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, college days were put on hold. Jim joined the Marine Corps and became a commissioned officer in 1944. He bravely served in the Pacific on the islands of Guam and Saipan. Serving in the Marine Corps turned boys into men, and Semper Fi (always faithful) became Jim’s life-long motto – faithful to God, country, family and friends.Returning home from the war and graduating from UT Austin in 1948, Jim took a job as a roustabout with Standard Oil at Goldsmith. Soon after, however, he was called to active duty again as a reservist, and embarked for Korea as company commander, having been promoted to the rank of Captain. Jim was privileged to participate in the Honor Flight in May, 2016, and relived many moments from WWII and Korea.The Korean War ended in 1953, and Jim returned to the States, having achieved the rank of Major. Two years later, Jim married his first wife June who had a teenage daughter Barbara. They also adopted 2 other children, Jimbo and Stacy. Jim worked for Humble Oil in Roswell, N.M. and Midland, TX in the Land Department for the next 22 years. In 1977, he retired from Humble (Exxon) and became head of the Land Department at Coquina Oil Co. When Coquina sold in 1982, Jim went to work for H.L “Sonny” Brown for several years before becoming an Independent Landman on his own. He continued working in that capacity until just 2 months before his passing this year.Jim’s marriage to June ended in 1982. Two years later, he married Vicky Simmons who was a single mother at the time raising 4 children. Together he and Vicky also had another child, Michael. Jim and Vicky celebrated 34 years of marriage this year. Growing up without a father himself, Jim became a father figure to countless young men and women in his life – not only his own children and step-children, but also children of all ages whom he and his wife Vicky took into their home through the years. He was a mentor to many, and was affectionately dubbed “Father Abraham”, having sired a son Michael at age 61.Jim had a strong faith that had its beginning in a revival tent in Baird, TX when he asked Jesus into his heart at the tender age of 7. That seed didn’t begin to grow, however for another 50 years, when Jim became God’s willing servant and the Holy Spirit began using him in a mighty way, telling everyone how much Jesus loves them. Jim was the first lay director of the Cursillo movement in this region in the late 1970’s. That was also the forerunner to the Walk to the Emmaus movement and the Kairos Prison Ministry. It was the prison ministry at the Wallace Unit at Colorado City that touched his heart the deepest. For the past 20 years he was a Christ figure to the young “men in white” there, and missed only one Kairos weekend in all that time. It was also during the 90’s that Jim taught a Sunday School class at the HT Episcopal Church; and out of that class, Rock the Desert was born – the first year, the concert took place in the parking lot at Holy Trinity, with 3,000 attendees and from there it has ballooned, reaching thousands of young people every year from all over.Jim was one-of-kind force of nature, and will be missed by so many. It was an honor to know him. His wit, his wisdom, and the warmth of his blue eyes and open arms cannot be duplicated. We will miss you, Jim, but know you are embraced by the loving arms of Jesus, and seeing so many old friends once again.Jim is survived by a large blended (his, hers, ours and theirs) family of 9 children, 23 grand-children, 13 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren: Barbara McLain and her family of N.M. and Arizona; Jim C. “Jimbo” Shaw (Shannon) and his family of Austin and the Middle East; Stacy Howell and her family of Midland, TX; Kelly Blackwell (Stephen) and her family of South Carolina; Kris Ellis (Glenn) and her family of Colorado and Washington; Geoff Simmons (Rita) and his family of Midland, TX; Curtis Simmons (Kyra) and his family of Lubbock, TX; Michael Shaw (Erika Elaine) and family of Midland, TX; and surrogate son Vladan Vuckovic of Midland, TX.He was preceded in death by his parents, cousins, and many close friends.A memorial service celebrating Jim’s life will take place on Saturday, August 18, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at Christ Church Anglican, 5501 North Midkiff in Midland. There will be a private family burial.The family would like to give special thanks to the caregivers from Home Hospice whose advice and caring were invaluable. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to Christ Church Anglican, the Kairos Prison Ministry, or to the Charity of one’s choice.Arrangements are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home & Crematory of Midland. Online condolences may be made at www.npwelch.com.,
