Memoirs from a Bohemian Gentleman

Donald Chester Shaw (Engineer, Professor, World Traveller, Art Collector) 1928 - 2020

Donald Shaw died on 27 November, 2020 surrounded by his family and so much love. 

Don was born in Mimico, Ontario. He attended St. Andrews College in Aurora and spent his summers at Sherwood Forest Camp in Haliburton. He graduated from chemical engineering at the University of Toronto in 1951 and later earned his MBA at the University of Western Ontario in 1958. 

Don began his professional career at DuPont, as one of a small group of engineers who started the Nylon Intermediates Plant outside Brockville. Following this, at Esso-Imperial Oil he was a market analyst in Toronto and Houston,Texas. After over a decade he was offered a Professorship in the Faculty of Business at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute where he had a long and happy career, specializing in union-management negotiations. 

Don's constant companion was his wife Ursula. They were married in Rothenburg-ob-der-Taube, Germany in 1962, and embarked on a 3 year honeymoon through Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. They continued to travel the world during Don's summer breaks with children in tow: Sabrina, Irving, Ramine, Zaria and adopted brother Eric. Highlights include two sabbatical trips through Asia, starting with a tour in China, trekking in Nepal, and multiple trips to his favourite spots in: Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand. 

Don's passions were archeology, art and jazz. He amassed an impressive collection of rare books, jazz records, Oriental and Persian carpets, seashells, coins and, indigenous carvings and paintings. He encouraged and supported local artists on his travels. His and Ursula's home in Mimico is a shrine to their fascinating life together. 

Don had incredible personal confidence, dignity, sense of humour, and was outrageously distinctive. Despite his privileged upbringing, Don defined life on his own terms. He was a distinguished dresser with tailor-made raw silk suits, cravats, boar teeth necklaces, Homburg hat and alligator shoes. His Ryerson colleagues complained that he was transgressing the school's dress code. He drove rusty old cars. He voted NDP. He bought and planted trees by night in public spaces. Positive disobedience was his thing. He drank with the tribes of the world.

Don was a devoted husband and generous father. A voracious reader, his love of learning and knowledge above all, his inquisitiveness of different cultures, his ability to connect with people and tell intriguing stories, often with subtle yet complex messages, made him a fascinating life partner, mentor and friend. He will be deeply missed by so many at home and around the world who became lifelong friends. 

Don's ashes will be buried at the Shaw Family plot in Oro Medonte Township, Simcoe Country, where his ancestors have been buried since the early 1800s. His family will hold a celebration of his life open to all in Summer 2021.