Kay Shaw

The daughter of Clyde Christie and Kathryn Weickert Christie, Kay grew up in Bergenfield, New Jersey where Christies had lived since 1699, and graduated from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. Kay, who was widely known as Casey, studied art and was an illustrator and commercial artist as well as a painter. She met Harvey Russ on the Jersey Shore; they married in 1951 and had three children, Carolyn, Clyde Christie, and Kathryn Russ. Kay and Harvey settled in Scituate in 1961 where they raised their family. They were active in community politics, the Congregational church, and were METCO parents. Son Clyde Christie Russ died at age twenty-one after a motorcycle accident.

Kay married John “Jack” Shaw in 1981 and they made their home in Scituate. Together they were active in the First Parish Unitarian church and vacationed on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands and on the Jersey Shore with her sister Jane and brother-in-law John. A gifted professional artist, Kay worked in oils and acrylic, but mainly in watercolor. She was a member of the North River Arts Association and active in the Scituate Arts Association, where she taught painting. She loved the Red Sox and taking walks in Scituate Harbor. She was an advocate of Hospice and joked that her obit should read “Local Artist dies of Aggravation!”; she said she was ready to die and communicated her wishes plainly, a gift to her children.

Kay is survived by her sister Jane MacVicar (husband John Meyer) of Manasquan NJ, her daughters, Carolyn Russ of Cambridge, MA and New Orleans, (husband Ted McKie) Kathryn Russ of Nashville, TN, grandson Christie Russ Kellogg and his fiancée Jenny Garcia of Quincy, MA. Kay is also survived by her stepdaughters Karen Quint of Wells ME (husband David) and Janet Keyes of Norfolk, VA (husband Chris) and many loving nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. A memorial service will be held in Scituate at a later date.