After a long life’s journey of 91 years, Joe Lamar Shaw returned home to his Lord on Thursday, February 18, 2021 just before midnight. Joe, a native of Liberty, Mississippi, lived the last 52 years of his life in Ponchatoula, with his wife, Mary.  

Joe was a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, an Army veteran, and a retiree of Shell Oil Company, where he worked for almost 35 years in various assignments in Operations before retiring in 1988 as a pipe fitter. Joe and Mary attended church services at the First Assembly of God in Ponchatoula, where they also worked in the church’s food bank for five years after Joe retired from Shell. Joe was also an active member of the church’s Christian Men’s Fellowship, a group which he and Mary accompanied on a mission trip to Honduras to build a Church.

Joe loved football, hunting (especially quail hunting) and working in the earth, growing a garden. Joe loved children, especially his own two boys, and was a dedicated family man who worked hard to provide for them and for Mary, the love of his life and wife of 68 years.

Joe is survived by his wife, Mary (Coker) Shaw; his son Jeffrey Shaw and wife Charlotte, his son Charles Shaw and his wife Penny; and three grandchildren, Amanda Amaya-Shaw, Andrew Amaya-Shaw and Alex Shaw.

Joe was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Firman Shaw, his mother, Nina Viola (Duck) Shaw, his brothers Charles Shaw, and Emmett Shaw and his sisters Mary Estelle Shaw, Katie (Shaw) Bellue, and Hazel (Shaw) Clark.

A Visitation for Family and Friends will be held at Harry McKneely & Son Funeral Home -  Ponchatoula , 100 W. Magnolia St., Ponchatoula, Louisiana 70454 on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm with a Memorial Service beginning at 7:00 pm. A Graveside Service will be held at Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, 2153 Bethel Road, Liberty, Mississippi 39645 on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 1:00 pm.

Interment will follow at Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery in Liberty, Mississippi.

Face masks are mandatory to attend any visitation or service and we ask that you maintain a respectful distance with the family. Thank you for your cooperation.