Laurel A. Shaw

Laurel Ann Shaw, 84, of Estes Park, Colorado, passed away on April 6 at the Peaks Care Center in Longmont, Colorado, with her husband, Bob, by her side. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 23, 1941, to John and Lenore (nee Percaccia) Schutte, Laurel attended Catherine McAuley High School, earned a bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University, and a master’s from Columbia University.

She met her husband while working at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University). Laurel was a Human Resources Manager and Bob was an Instructor of Mathematics. Bob saw Laurel and was immediately smitten. He walked into her office and asked for an employee benefits form and a dinner date. She said yes, and the rest is history. They were married on April 2, 1966, and celebrated their 60th anniversary a few days before she passed. There was no way she was going to miss that milestone.

Laurel and Bob left Brooklyn a few years after they were married to start a family in northern New Jersey. Laurel was an amazing mother to two sons, Larry and Greg, whom she instilled with her mantra: “What are you doing that’s useful?” She always encouraged her boys to reach their full potential and to see the world – advice they took to heart, both choosing extremely international careers. She used to joke, “When I told my sons ‘Go West Young Man’, I was thinking maybe California … but they just kept going.”

And Laurel followed. She and Bob frequently visited Larry and Greg in far-flung corners of the planet including Bosnia, Botswana, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. After their kids were out on their own – and drawn by the natural beauty of the American West – Laurel and Bob moved to Colorado in 1994. They lived in Greeley and Pinewood Springs before settling down in Estes Park in 2018. Laurel’s passion for wildlife and wild places made the Rocky Mountains an easy place to call home.

To say that she loved dogs would be a laughable understatement. In the dictionary, under “dog person”, it says “See Laurel Shaw.” She established her own professional kennel, “Seeshaw Goldens,” and spent over 50 years breeding, training and showing champion Golden Retrievers and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Hitting the road to compete in dog shows all over the US was a constant source of joy for Laurel, and she considered the life-long friendships she made in the “dog world” to be precious gifts.

The only thing she cared for more than the four-legged members of her family were the two-legged members. Laurel will always be remembered as the love of Bob’s life, the best mom, mother-in-law, and grandma anyone could hope for, and a friend you were glad to have in your corner. She will be intensely missed.

Laurel is survived by her husband, Bob; sons Larry and Greg; daughter-in-law, Layla; and grandsons, Aldin and Benjamin.

A memorial service will be held at 3 pm on Sunday, April 26, at Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church in Estes Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies.