John H. Shaw

John H. Shaw ONTARIO, CAN -John H. Shaw, 89, took flight on Thursday, June 22nd with his family by his side. He was born January 27, 1934 in Perth, Ontario, Canada and moved to Brockville, Ontario in his youth where he enjoyed competing with teammates at the Brockville Rowing Club. His daughters remember him as goal-oriented and having a competitive spirit. He took great pride in his children and grandchildren and provided never ending love and support. His friends and neighbors describe him as a true gentleman. In 1955 John discovered his life’s passion. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) where he flew jets, Search & Rescue helicopters, and trained pilots. His father’s advice to him was to “fly low and slow”. He took a portion of this advice to heart when he allegedly flew under the Thousand Islands Bridge. During his time in the Air Force he met his other lifelong love, Anne Parker, on a blind date; they married in 1961. After the Air Force he worked as a private pilot for Irving Oil. John’s love for flying led them to Ireland where he flew for Aer Lingus and then to the United States where he had a successful 30 year career with American Airlines. In 1994, mandatory retirement shifted John’s flying from commercial jets to single engine planes. He spent his retirement years formation flying at local celebrations, as well as taking part in the missing man formation. He also volunteered for the Young Eagles program providing youth ages 8-17 their first free ride in an airplane. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Anne Shaw; daughters Janet Graf, Heather Brady and Ellen Shaw; his grandchildren and extended family members in Canada. A memorial service is scheduled for September 9th, 2023 at 11am at Kearsarge Community Presbyterian Church, New London, NH. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Guiding Eyes for the Blind (http://www.guidingeyes.org: 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights NY 10598; phone: 800-942-0149) or Be The Match which supports life-saving bone marrow transplantation (http://www.bethematch.org; 500 North 5th Street, Minneapolis MN 55401; phone 800-507-5427).