Part of a Eulogy written and read by Hubert J. Charles
To her husband of 60 years, she was simply Eudora, to her four children she was Mummy. To her Grand and Great grandchildren, she was Granny and GG respectively. To her sister Christine, she was Udoe. To her cousins of the generations after her, she was Cousin Eudora. She was Eudora, Ma Shaw, Mrs. Shaw, or Mother Shaw to her friends and detractors.
Eudora was born in St. Kitts to Liliyan Massicoott and Joseph Matthew Sebastian on 10, April 1931. It was at the age of high mobility among the then Leeward Islands and at the age of two, she accompanied her maternal grand aunt Christina Richards (nee Watty), whom she lovely called Tanty, and Major Alfred Richards to their home in Portsmouth Dominica.
She attended the Portsmouth Government School and later the Wesley High School where she successfully completed the Senior Cambridge Exams. At the time of her passing, she was the oldest and a proud graduate of Wesley High School.
Her upbringing was genteel and Methodist. This meant regular attendance at church service, Sunday School, and bible study, and strict attention to schoolwork. However, the strict regimen was balanced with piano lessons, sewing, art and craft, cooking, and baking. These were the pursuits that would be important to her throughout her life as will be attested to by those who knew her well, for receiving her famous fruit cake at Christmas, including those on her list.
Eudora married the suave and studious Vernon Lorden Shaw in Portsmouth on April 9, 1953. Their marriage would last 60 years, producing four children, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
An attractive and caring mother, she ensured that their upbringing was well…Methodist with supercharged love balanced with discipline which on occasions involved the use of the “biblical rod.” She urged them to hold fast to their faith and to be considered but “daring in their decision-making.”
She was also a lifelong and staunch Methodist and notwithstanding her family and professional responsibilities she found time to support the church’s music ministry as a pianist and to serve as the class leader. Her contribution to the teaching profession is also remarkable and well-recognized.
A graduate of Erdiston Teachers College Barbados and the University of the West Indies where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education and is also credited with helping her students achieve and sustain what can be termed “success with character.”
She earned a post-graduate International Relations diploma from the University of the West Indies. Her tenure as a public servant was equally outstanding, systematically climbing the proverbial ladder and reaching the vaunted position of Permanent Secretary, a position she held up to her retirement from Public Service in 1991. We are unsurprised that the knowledge and experience gained from her long public service were sought after during her retirement.
His Excellency Vernon Shaw served as President of the Commonwealth of Dominica from 1998-2003. She was this elevated to the role of “First Lady.” During that period, she endeavored to maintain the dignity and high standards associated with the Office. At stake was not merely the reputation of her dear husband, but the image and standing of her beloved Dominica.
But it was as the matriarch of the Family she will most be remembered. She reached out to family members near and far, wanting to know how they were doing. Her instinct was always to corral and protect. Perhaps, the key output of her guardianship was her research into the preparation of a Family Tree an impressive work that easily captures the ancestry of the maternal side of her family and occupies a central position in her home.
Lucid and conversant to the end, Mrs. Stella Eudora Shaw transitioned on Tuesday 28, February 2023 in the company of her children. Travel well, dear Cousin! You will continue to live not only in the hearts of your children and extended family, but in the memory of the many you touched in one way or the other. Go then and Rest in Peace!
The service of celebration for the life of Stella Eudora Shaw was held on March 24, 2023, at the Bethesda Methodist Church and interment at Mount Wallis Methodist Cemetery Portsmouth. The officiating Minister was Rev Morna S. Christmas-Frazer. Among those who attended the funeral were President of Dominica Charles Savarin and his wife, former Opposition Leader Lennox Linton, Roseau North MP Miriam Blanchard among others.
