Obituary of Tom Shaw

Tom was fine as frog hair. “That’s mighty fine.” He escaped the Silver Valley on May 8, 2023 at the age of 85. Having lived much longer than he expected and much longer than he said he deserved. Tom wasn’t afraid to share his opinion, although sometimes rude or inappropriate. He liked to tell people where to “stick it” and he was proud of it. Tom wasn’t for everybody, but those who got him loved him. His love for cars began as a teenager before he was old enough to get a drivers license, but that didn’t stop him. He began racing dragsters in the 50’s with his lifelong friend Corky Matthews. His passion for drag racing continued into the late 60’s, after serving in the Army from 60 to 62. Tom met the love of his life, Judith (Judy) Ann Balzer, and they were married in 65. After 54 years of marriage Judy passed away in 2019. Tom was lost without her. Tom and Judy shared their love for street rods. When they weren’t on the road or at a street rod event, Tom could always be found in the garage working on yet another project. He was an excellent mechanic and built beautiful street rods. Tom loved his wife, drag racing, street rods, a good steak, blueberry muffins, ice cream, cold beer and Crown on the rocks. Not necessarily in that order. He hated green vegetables. He said, “they give you worms.” Watching Fox News really got Tom wound up. We thought he would have a heart attack before changing the channel, but in the end complications from COPD got him instead. Tom is survived by his beloved 1940 Ford Coupe Deluxe and Corky’s three daughters, Christi Horst (Mark), Cathi Kramer (Bill), Tammi Ridgway (David), and their children and grandchildren who have always loved Tom and Judy as family. Last, but certainly not least, Tom was loved and will be dearly missed by Beazle, Christi’s dog.