Mary Louise Holt Shaw

   The Lord came peacefully for Mary Louise Holt Shaw, 97, on Monday, September 23 at her home in Edenton, NC. She was born in Allen, NC on February 6, 1922 to H. J. and Lanora Ann McDonald Holt.

   Louise met her late husband, Gordon Shaw, in Troy, NC. She was a faithful pastor’s wife, serving as a helpmate with her husband in the ministry at several Baptist churches in North Carolina: Central, Spring Lake; Faymont, Fayetteville; Columbia and SoundSide, Columbia; Macedonia, Edenton; Magnolia, Stedman; Bethel, Hertford; Eagle Springs, Eagle Springs; and Mount Olive, Rockingham.

   In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Gordon Shaw of Edenton; her sister, Jean Parnell of Fayetteville; her brother, Charles Holt of Star, NC; her daughter, Louise Conger of Anson, TX; one grandson; and one great-grandson.

   The Church was a central part of her life. She said she never knew not being in Sunday School and worship on Sunday mornings with her family. She always loved children, and starting at the early age of 16, she worked with preschoolers in Sunday School, Training Union, and Sunbeams. Apart from times when moving from one church to another, she taught preschoolers every year for 60-plus years until she “retired” in her early eighties. She wanted to continue but “didn’t want to get on the floor with them and not be able to get back up.” In addition to working with children, she was also very active in the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU), serving at various times as WMU Director, and, at the associational level, as Baptist Women Director and Mission Friends Director.

   Surviving her are her sister, Elizabeth Ann Smith of Denver, NC; her sons, Holt Shaw and wife, Loretta, of Edenton, Charles Shaw and wife, Pat, of Columbia, SC, Jim Shaw and wife, Jane, of Deep Gap, NC; 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandson.

   Funeral services will be held Friday at 11:00 a.m. in Macedonia Baptist Church and will be conducted by the Rev. Chris Gravning and the Rev. Bob Young. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Friends may join the family at the residence.

   In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Building Fund of Macedonia Baptist Church, P.O. Box 18, Edenton, NC 27932

   Miller Funeral Home & Crematory, 735 Virginia Road, Edenton, is assisting the family with arrangements and online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.