Staff Report
Friends and colleagues are mourning the death of state Rep. Barbara Shaw, D-Manchester, who served 11 terms in the General Court.
Shaw was the clerk of the House Education Committee.
Shaw was also a Manchester Alderman who worked as a teacher and administrator in Manchester for 45 years after graduating from Plymouth State College where she obtained a master’s degree in 1980.
She listed on the General Court website under miscellaneous, “Living Life to the fullest.”
New Hampshire House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, said Shaw was a friend to many.
“She served on numerous local and state boards and commissions and worked in the education field for over 40 years. She contributed so much to her city and state, she will be greatly missed,” Packard said.
House Democratic Leader Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, said:
“I am shocked and saddened to hear of Rep. Shaw’s untimely passing. Rep. Shaw was a devoted legislator, serving her 11th term in the New Hampshire House. She was an equally devoted alderwoman, the longest serving in Manchester’s history.”
Cushing said as a former teacher, Shaw’s passion was improving education for all Granite State children.
“She never faltered in her steadfast commitment to working across the aisle to make the change she believed in,” Cushing said. “Most importantly, Rep. Shaw was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, never tiring in speech of admiration for her family. Our caucus will miss her, and we wish all who loved her peace as they honor her memory.”
State Sen. Donna Soucy, D-Manchester, said, “As an educator, a state representative, and as the longest serving female Alderman in Manchester, Representative Shaw embodied the very definition of what it means to be a public servant. Her decades of dedication to the state of New Hampshire will not be forgotten. We offer our sincerest condolences to Representative Shaw’s family and promise that her State House family will be honoring her memory this holiday season.”
The cause of Shaw’s death was not immediately known.
State Sen. Kevin Cavanaugh, D-Manchester stated, “It has been an honor to serve with Representative Shaw both in the State House and on the Aldermanic Board in Manchester. She will be truly missed.”
State Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, stated, “Representative Shaw worked hard her entire life to try and help the good people of New Hampshire. Her legacy lives on through her years of service to the city of Manchester, through every student who passed through her door, and through her dedication to the Granite State.”
