Donna V. Shaw

Donna V. Shaw, 88 years old, died January 5, 2023, with family by her side.

She was born in July of 1934, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Marlin Edward Vought and Georgia Ruth Wall Vought.

Donna and her younger sister Catherine “Kay” V. Bryant grew up in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Donna graduated from Lansdowne High School and made lifelong friends there.
She continued her academics at Penn State University. She was a proud member of Delta Gamma Sorority and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1956. While she was still a student, Donna was a waitress at a restaurant in Ocean City, New Jersey for the summer and met the love of her life when William Thomas “Tom” Shaw asked her out. They were married June 30th, 1956 and celebrated 66 anniversaries together.

Donna had a great love of the arts and nature- especially birds- and shared these interests with her family. She was a great reader and researched vacation locations and attractions and served as the family’s tour guide armed with a raft of clippings and brochures. Donna volunteered in the school libraries and at Christiana Hospital. She and Tom were longtime members of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, DE.

After stints in California and New York State, Tom and Donna settled in Webster Farm in Wilmington, Delaware. They lived there until relocating to Maris Grove Senior Living community in Glen Mills, PA.

Donna was loved by her family, a good friend to many and a wonderful hostess. Family and friendships meant a lot to her at every stage of life.

Donna is survived by her husband Tom, two children Karen Shaw Stewart, Wayne Edward Shaw and his wife Carolyn Else Shaw, four grandchildren Sean Boone Kirkpatrick, Amy Else Shaw, Erik Thomas Shaw, Peter Andrew Shaw, great grandson William “Will” Thomas Shaw, her sister Kay Bryant, and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, DE located at 1502 W 13th St., Wilmington, DE 19806.