Fowler
Fowler E. Shaw, jr.
Fowler E. Shaw, Jr. passed away peacefully on April 18th, 2020,at the age of 88, after a long, courageous battle with stroke and dementia.
Fowler was born on May 7, 1931 in Abilene, Texas to Fowler E. Shaw, Sr. and Lucille (Roberts) Shaw, an only child. When Fowler was 9, his family moved to northern California where he lived through high school. Fowler enlisted in the Army and served during the Korean War. He was stationed in Germany during that time and enjoyed sharing about his leave visits to La Scala in Milan, Italy, and other European sites.
He returned home and went to University of California at Long Beach thanks to the GI bill. Upon graduation, he married Carolyn, and moved to Philadelphia, where he began the first of his varied careers, attending seminary at Eastern University. Hewas ordained in the American Baptist Church and became a pastor in Frankford. He had many moving and humorous tales of his years as minister there. His family grew and they had three children, Sharon, Stephen, and Leslie.
Fowler was especially interested in children and youth and began working with the Juvenile Justice System. He and Carolyn were divorced, and he married his second wife, Gladys. Gladys was a special education teacher and Fowler also began teaching elementary school. Together they had three children, Jennifer, Pamela, and Robert.
Time went on, the children grew, Fowler stopped teaching and started doing computer programming. Fowler and Gladys were divorced. In time he started attending church at Old Pine Presbyterian, where he met Diana Schrader in 1984. Diana was in Philadelphia to attend graduate school, with a plan to leave Philly after graduation. But this was not to be, and Fowler and Diana were married on March 16, 1985 at the church where they had met. Fowler continued to work as a statistical programmer for pharmaceutical companies, assisting in the preparation of reports about new drug trials for submission to the FDA. Diana graduated from Hahnemann Medical University and worked as a creative arts therapist in community mental health centers. Fowler and Diana participated actively in a wide variety of activities at Old Pine, and although they had no children, they lived a rich, rewarding, loving life for 35 years.
Fowler has been described by those who knew him as "a lovely man", cheerful, outgoing, generous, creative, intelligent, compassionate. He read voraciously, especially history, biographies, science fiction, and British murder mysteries. He was great at "Trivial Pursuit" and backgammon. Fowler always had a humorous story to tell and often shared about his earlier experiences in his varied professions. He had a wonderful singing voice in church, but could never be convinced to join the choir because he said he didn't know how to read music. He supported Diana in her interest in dance, attending performances and becoming knowledgeable about different dance companies that performed in Philadelphia. Over the years, Fowler and Diana travelled to a variety of places, including Jamaica, Maine, Orlando, and Shanghai. One of their favorite vacation spots was the beach at Ocean City, MD. Even throughout his illness, Fowler continued to be deeply faithful, attending worship services at Wesley Enhanced Living long after he was able to participate actively.
Fowler is survived by his loving wife, Diana Schrader, his beloved children: Stephen (Emily), Leslie (Jay), Jennifer, Pamela (Todd), and Robert (Carol), and his grandchildren: Christopher, Andrew, Conrad, Violet, Maddy, Hallie, Justin, Liam, and Zoe, and his great grandchild: Kaden.
Due to the current pandemic, Fowler's family will be celebrating his life in the future with a memorial service to honor his rich, diverse life. Diana appreciates all of your love, support, and prayers at this difficult time and will post funeral details at a later time. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Old Pine Presbyterian Church (215-925-8051) or Wesley Enhanced Living at Pennypack Park (215-624-5800).
Arrangements by McCafferty Sweeney Slabinski Barnes Funerals and Cremations of Torresdale Avenue, John J. Barnes Supervisor, 215-333-0500. Please share your fondest memories of Fowler at PhillyFunerals.com
Fowler was born on May 7, 1931 in Abilene, Texas to Fowler E. Shaw, Sr. and Lucille (Roberts) Shaw, an only child. When Fowler was 9, his family moved to northern California where he lived through high school. Fowler enlisted in the Army and served during the Korean War. He was stationed in Germany during that time and enjoyed sharing about his leave visits to La Scala in Milan, Italy, and other European sites.
He returned home and went to University of California at Long Beach thanks to the GI bill. Upon graduation, he married Carolyn, and moved to Philadelphia, where he began the first of his varied careers, attending seminary at Eastern University. Hewas ordained in the American Baptist Church and became a pastor in Frankford. He had many moving and humorous tales of his years as minister there. His family grew and they had three children, Sharon, Stephen, and Leslie.
Fowler was especially interested in children and youth and began working with the Juvenile Justice System. He and Carolyn were divorced, and he married his second wife, Gladys. Gladys was a special education teacher and Fowler also began teaching elementary school. Together they had three children, Jennifer, Pamela, and Robert.
Time went on, the children grew, Fowler stopped teaching and started doing computer programming. Fowler and Gladys were divorced. In time he started attending church at Old Pine Presbyterian, where he met Diana Schrader in 1984. Diana was in Philadelphia to attend graduate school, with a plan to leave Philly after graduation. But this was not to be, and Fowler and Diana were married on March 16, 1985 at the church where they had met. Fowler continued to work as a statistical programmer for pharmaceutical companies, assisting in the preparation of reports about new drug trials for submission to the FDA. Diana graduated from Hahnemann Medical University and worked as a creative arts therapist in community mental health centers. Fowler and Diana participated actively in a wide variety of activities at Old Pine, and although they had no children, they lived a rich, rewarding, loving life for 35 years.
Fowler has been described by those who knew him as "a lovely man", cheerful, outgoing, generous, creative, intelligent, compassionate. He read voraciously, especially history, biographies, science fiction, and British murder mysteries. He was great at "Trivial Pursuit" and backgammon. Fowler always had a humorous story to tell and often shared about his earlier experiences in his varied professions. He had a wonderful singing voice in church, but could never be convinced to join the choir because he said he didn't know how to read music. He supported Diana in her interest in dance, attending performances and becoming knowledgeable about different dance companies that performed in Philadelphia. Over the years, Fowler and Diana travelled to a variety of places, including Jamaica, Maine, Orlando, and Shanghai. One of their favorite vacation spots was the beach at Ocean City, MD. Even throughout his illness, Fowler continued to be deeply faithful, attending worship services at Wesley Enhanced Living long after he was able to participate actively.
Fowler is survived by his loving wife, Diana Schrader, his beloved children: Stephen (Emily), Leslie (Jay), Jennifer, Pamela (Todd), and Robert (Carol), and his grandchildren: Christopher, Andrew, Conrad, Violet, Maddy, Hallie, Justin, Liam, and Zoe, and his great grandchild: Kaden.
Due to the current pandemic, Fowler's family will be celebrating his life in the future with a memorial service to honor his rich, diverse life. Diana appreciates all of your love, support, and prayers at this difficult time and will post funeral details at a later time. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Old Pine Presbyterian Church (215-925-8051) or Wesley Enhanced Living at Pennypack Park (215-624-5800).
Arrangements by McCafferty Sweeney Slabinski Barnes Funerals and Cremations of Torresdale Avenue, John J. Barnes Supervisor, 215-333-0500. Please share your fondest memories of Fowler at PhillyFunerals.com
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