Former GOP official hailed as ‘quintessential Southern gentleman’

Starting as gospel singer, Shaw turned to business, politics.

Bob Shaw was a force in Georgia’s Republican Party when state conventions were small enough to be held in a phone booth, his friends say.

As Georgia’s political landscape changed and Republi- cans ascended, Shaw became a player in national politics, convincing Paul Coverdell, Newt Gingrich and Johnny Isakson to run for public office. He also was elected chairman of the state Republican Party twice and vice chairman of the Republican National Committee.

“He was beloved by everybody,” said Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, whom Shaw urged to run for state chairman. “I never heard anyone, Republican or Democrat, say a bad thing about Bob Shaw.

“He was the quintessen- tial Southern gentleman.”

Robert Jennings Shaw, 94, died Feb. 27 of pneu- monia. Born in tiny Bron- wood in South Georgia, he was the only son of Robert Edwards Shaw and Vesta Jennings Shaw, who also had three daughters. In the mid- 1930s, the family moved from Terrell County to Marietta, where Shaw’s father ran a service station.

After graduating from Marietta High in 1946, Bob joined the Georgia Air National Guard. He also enrolled at Georgia Tech, where he played for the baseball team. He later graduated from the Atlanta Division of the Uni- versity of Georgia, which is now Georgia State University.

Politics was only one of Shaw’s interests. As a child, he and his parents attended gospel music shows, and he fell in love with music and singing. In 1949, he became the lead singer in the Home- land Harmony Quartet, a popular Southern gospel group. Later, he sang with the Harmoneers and the Sun- shine Boys.

He was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame.

Shaw married Elaine Smith on Christmas Day in 1950 and they were married for almost 66 years, until her death in 2016.

After returning from the Korean War, Shaw joined the Revelaires Quartet, another gospel group. He left the group in 1955 to spend more time with his family. The next year, he became min- ister of music at First Bap- tist Chattahoochee, a position he held for 58 years. He also started building his successful insurance agency and consultant business.

“In the 1950s, he got involved with (future President Dwight D.) Eisenhower,” Paul said. “He became a key figure in the modern Republican Party in Georgia, and he adapted to every ebb and flow. He built relationships with everybody.”

Shaw is survived by his sister, Carol Shaw; three of his four daughters, Elena Fash, Susan Felderman and Bobbie Bourne; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. March 22 at First Baptist Chattahoochee, 1950 Bolton Road NW, Atlanta.

AJC 1973 As state GOP chairman, Bob Shaw (right) worked with then-National Republican Committee chairman George H.W. Bush.