Genice Shaw

Mrs. Genice Walker Lewis Shaw, was born December 11, 1931, in Jefferson County, Alabama, to Eva Mae Thompson Walker and Frederick Bernice Walker, one of five children. Genice passed away on September 9, 2021. Her mother and father preceded her, as did her only brother Fred, Jr., two sisters, Margaret Lee Gross and Juanita Grimes, and granddaughter, Anna Lewis. She was also preceded in death by her first husband of 20 years, David W. Lewis, and by her second husband of 47 years, Letson Eugene (John) Shaw, and a stepson, John Edward Shaw. She is survived by one sister, Molly Fleming of Tampa, FL.

Genice and David lived in Fairfield for several years where she worked as Executive Secretary to the VP of U.S. Steel and he was in the Engineering Training Program at U.S. Steel. David was drafted into the Army and stationed at Camp Gordon, GA, then sent to Radar-Microwave School at Ft. Monmouth, NJ for 12 months. They bought a house trailer and towed it to Eatontown, NJ, near Ft. Monmouth. Genice transferred from U.S. Steel in Fairfield to U.S. Steel Export Company in New York City. The 2 ½ hour commute from Eatontown, NJ to NYC turned out to be too time consuming so she went to work at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. From Fort Monmouth, David was transferred to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas then on to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. They lived in El Paso for 12 months where she worked at Biggs AFB, and he trained at White Sands Proving Grounds. After his discharge from the Army, David and Genice went back to Auburn where he completed his Electrical Engineering degree and she worked as Secretary to the Coordinator of Men’s Housing and took evening classes. Upon graduation, they sold the house trailer that had been their home for four years and bought a house in Fairfield. They both went back to work at U.S. Steel.

Genice and David adopted an infant son on December 18, 1959, Christopher David Lewis, born on November 9, 1959, in Mobile, AL. Five years later, U.S. Steel centralized their Engineering and Accounting Departments to Pittsburgh, and they moved there and built a home in McMurray, PA. There they adopted another infant son, Robin William Lewis, born January 27, 1966. Genice and David had 20 happy years together before he had a massive brain hemorrhage at his desk in Pittsburgh.

After returning home to Fairfield, she went back to work for U.S. Steel where she met and married Letson E. (John) Shaw on May 4, 1970. John was widowed and had one 14-year-old son, John Edward Shaw. Genice and John built a home in Hoover, AL and had a baby boy, Timothy Eugene Shaw, born March 25, 1971. Chris and Tim graduated from Auburn, and Robin graduated from UAB and U.S. Figuring Skating School in Colorado. Robin competed in the 1984 Olympics in Men’s Figure Skating and was on Broadway for five years.

After retirement, thanks to Robin’s work with Holland America and Royal Caribbean, Genice and John traveled the world seeing London, Paris, Amsterdam, Plymouth, Vigo, Portugal, Strait of Gibraltar, Barcelona, Madrid, as well as Seward, Valdez, and Juneau, Alaska; and many trips to the Caribbean. Genice and John enjoyed 47 years together. She is survived by three sons, Christopher David Lewis (Amy), Robin William Lewis (Todd), and Timothy Eugene Shaw (Pamela); a grandson, Lawson William Shaw and three granddaughters, Katie Lewis, Kyla Lee Shaw, and Piper Lewis-Dellinger.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm at Currie-Jefferson Funeral Home in Hoover, AL. The funeral service will begin at 1:00pm from the chapel. Interment will immediately follow at Jefferson Memorial Gardens, South.