Barbara Ann Shaw

Dr. Barbara Ann Shaw died on April 16, 2019. She was a Bulloch County native, but had lived in Vinings, Cobb County for 45 years. She is survived by her brother and sister in law, Ed and Lucy Shaw, and by several nieces and nephews. Barbara was a graduate of Georgia Southern University and earned her Masters and Doctorate from the University of Georgia. She was retired as the Director of Communications and Art for the Cobb County Board of Education. She previously taught at Brenau University, Kennesaw State University, and the University of Georgia. She also did consulting work specializing in educational and legislative issues. Barbara founded Kaleidoscope, the visual and performing arts festival for Cobb County school students. She was a graduate of the Honorary Commanders Program, Leadership Cobb and is a past president of the Cobb Arts Commission. She served on the Georgia Council for the Arts for three years, she was a member of the Marietta Rotary Club for 30 years. She was also active with the Cobb/Marietta Junior League and the Vinings Civic Club. Barbara is remembered for her vivacious and fun-loving personality. She was a hard worker and always enjoyed a challenge. She was a true friend to the many people who loved her. According to her friend Bill Shipp, Barbara Shaw might have been a skilled news editor who could separate fact from fiction – if her ambitions had turned in that direction. Alas, she took another path. It became, of all things, an education lobbyist who seemed to know everything about southern politics. In her hey day as a paid arm twister for Georgia school interest, Barbara cheerfully took on any project she was assigned to improve the state’s often lagging public school programs. I did not know Barbara until late in her career – late 1960’s or early 1970’s. She once told me she had heard my name many times and once went out of her way to meet me and my pals at Rocco’s. At first, I was pleased and flattered but later I learned she was not so keen on meeting me. She wanted an introduction to local legend Tom Watson Brown whom she had heard was a sometimes social companion to me. So she showed up one day at Rocco’s and suddenly there was a new member of our circle and a female democrat from South Georgia. And as Brown regaled us with tall tales of the Georgia legal community, Barbara could match him with equally outrageous (and probably true) stories of state employees, lobbyists and elective officials. Barbara knew where everybody was buried. Come to think of it, she might have been a better newspaperman than most journalists. Hardly a day passed when the legislature was in session that Barbara did not un-earth several morsels of political gossip that would delight any politician or scribe who heard them. As for her hostess talents, she was a master of good manners, intellectual talk and excellent taste though she spent years around Georgia old-timers who were schooled in off-colored stories, tales of endless legends of dear old Dixie. I shall miss Barbara. She was often the only person I could turn to for authenticating Georgia’s fake political news. She also was a friend of many of us who gathered at Tom Watson Brown’s house once a week to swap notes about politics. No matter how long I live, I doubt I will ever find another news source as knowledgeable and understanding as Barbara. She also worked for Otis Brumby, Jr when he was chairman of the Georgia State School Board. She became an invaluable assistant to Brumby who needed all the authentic information he could collect about education in North Georgia. A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, May 2, 2019 from 4 to 5pm at Mayes Ward-Dobbins funeral home, 180 Church Street, Marietta, GA 30060. Please consider a donation to the Marietta Rotary Foundation Children’s Christmas Fund, P.O. Box 711, Marietta, Ga. 30061 or Cobb County School District, Kaleidoscope Art Program, Attn: Stacy Levy, 514 Glover St., Suite 220, Marietta, Ga. 30060 in memory of Barbara. www.mayeswarddobbins.com 770 428-1511

Barbara Ann Shaw

October 22, 1941 - April 16, 2019