Betty Jane Shaw (Mary Elizabeth)

Mary Elizabeth Noe Shaw, known to her family and friends as Betty Jane Shaw, passed away peacefully at home at the age of 87 in the early hours of August 19th. She had been ill for several months and spent her final four days in hospice, surrounded by her family.

Betty Jane was born at St. Michael’s Hospital in Newark, NJ on November 13, 1938. She grew up in Harrison, NJ, graduating from Holy Cross School, St. Cecilia High School, and Caldwell College for Women where she majored in English and Education and played four years of varsity basketball, as well as participated in numerous theater productions. At Caldwell, Betty Jane was honored by her peers with the “C-Pin”, an annual award for outstanding character, leadership and commitment to the school’s core values.

Following college, Betty Jane pursued a lengthy career as an elementary school teacher, instructing a variety of grade levels in several different municipalities: Harrison, Livingston, Rumson, Barnegat, Marlboro and West Long Branch (New Jersey); and, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Wherever she taught, she brought excellence to the classroom, conveyed her love of children, and shared generously her talents in song and dance by regularly directing and choreographing extracurricular musical productions. She was active in community theater throughout her adulthood, starring in productions such as “Kismet”, “The Sound of Music”, “Showboat”, and “Cabaret”.

The home Betty Jane made with her husband of 64 years, Joseph Thomas Shaw, and two children was filled with music and a love of the arts. Following 33 years in New Jersey and nine years in Colorado, Betty Jane and Joseph retired to Bluffton, South Carolina in 2004.

Betty Jane is predeceased by her mother, Betty (nee Gallagher), and father, Harry David Noe. She is survived by husband Joseph, daughter Marybeth and son-in-law Majid Jelveh, son James Joseph, and grandson Aidan Navid Jelveh.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Betty Jane may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.