Tallahassee Democrat
“Shaw leaves legacy of savvy, success and civic commitment”
May 12, 2015
By Gerald EnsleyFrank Shaw Jr., whose roots in Tallahassee were as deep as his influence, has died.Shaw, 83, died unexpectedly Monday night at his Meridian Plantation home on Lake Jackson. He had completed a busy weekend of traveling to watch the last of three grandchildren graduate from college, when he died while reading a book.Shaw was a fifth generation Tallahasseean, whose father, Frank Sampson Shaw Sr., founded the city’s second car dealership (Ford) in 1926. Shaw went on to run that dealership, sit on the board of three banks, develop numerous Tallahassee neighborhoods and serve as president of the Chamber of Commerce.He was a political operative, who was campaign treasurer for Gov. Reubin Askew‘s two successful runs for governor and was campaign manager for Jim Smith’s two elections as Florida Attorney General.Shaw was a dedicated civic volunteer, who served as president of the district council of Boy Scouts and won two of the Boys Scouts’ highest awards for leadership. He was an enthusiastic coach of youth sports, helping start the city’s recreation department’s first softball league for girls.He was also a founder, board member and chairman of Maclay School, located just across Meridian Road from his home. He was involved in the creation of St. Peter’s Anglican Church. He helped found and/or served on the board of innumerable groups, including Innovation Park, the Southern Scholarship Foundation and the James Madison Institute.Shaw is survived by his estimable wife of 55 years, Sarah Cawthon Shaw; son Frank Shaw III; daughter Sally Hyde and five grandchildren.“There was a long period of Tallahassee history where if anything significant happened, Frank was in the middle of it,” said Jim Smith. “He did a lot for this community.”Shaw’s late parents were the colorful Frank “Pint” Shaw Sr., and Mary “Tipper” Lowry Shaw. The cigar-chomping Shaw Sr., was a Quincy native and Tallahassee civic leader, who earned his nickname at Davidson College for the measure in which he bought alcohol. The gracious Tipper Shaw was the daughter of Dexter Lowry, an eight-time mayor of Tallahassee, state senator and president of Capital City Bank; she was nicknamed by her father for the way she walked on her toes as a child.The elder Shaws bought the 650-acre Meridian Plantation on Lake Jackson in 1946. In the 1980s, Frank Shaw Jr., developed a portion of the plantation as the Pine Tip Hills neighborhood, naming the streets for family members and former owners of the plantation.Among the other neighborhoods developed by Shaw were Harbinwoods, Winwood Hills, Rose Hill, Ox Bottom Manor, Buckhead and Settlers Creek. At the time of his death, Shaw was successfully rescuing Tippecanoe Hills, a once-foreclosed development on Hartsfield Road, which now has 27 homes. He also developed several commercial properties.Shaw helped run what is now Tallahassee Ford Lincoln until shortly after his father’s death in 1988, when he and a partner sold the dealership. Shaw helped found and sat on the boards of Parkway National Bank, Andrew Jackson Savings and Loan and First South Savings and Loan.“Frank was quite an entrepreneur,” said Tallahassee developer Jack Buford, a friend since childhood and partner in several ventures. “He loved business, he loved bargaining, he loved negotiating. Frank had kind of a Midas touch. Every (businessman) has a few blips along the way. But Frank had many more successes than mistakes. He was a very good businessman.”Shaw was also a keen political adviser. In addition to working with Askew and Smith, Shaw played a key role int he successful campaigns of Florida Gov. Bob Graham, Leon County Sheriff Eddie Boone and City Commissioner Judd Chapman — who, like Smith, appreciated diminutive Shaw’s frank personality.“Frank was very direct; you certainly never had any problem where he stood on things,” Smith said. “He obviously was a successful businessman, who did a lot of different things. But he didn’t suffer fools lightly, that’s for sure.”The funeral is Friday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Peter’s Anglican Church (4784 Thomasville Road).Article: http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2015/05/12/shaw-leaves-legacy-savvy-success-civic-commitment/27195125/
2015
