December, 2007

Gerri Shaw Weatherby 

Gerri Shaw Weatherby, 83, died Friday, November 30, 2007, at the Austin Heart Hospital in Austin, Texas. The daughter of Bertha (Taylor) and Millard Shaw was born December 2, 1923, in Lamesa, Texas. Gerri graduated from Abilene High School and attended Hardin Simmons University from 1940 to 1942 and North Texas State University from 1942 to 1945 where she majored in Voice and Choral Music. Gerri taught at Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville, Texas, from 1945 to 1947 and 1949 to 1952. She taught at Hardin Simmons University from 1955 to 1960 and in the Abilene public schools from 1961 to 1970, at which time she moved to Richardson, Texas, and taught in the Richardson School District from 1970 to 1973. She resigned in 1973 and went into different business endeavors, which included first Expansion Director for Lady Love Cosmetics. Gerri’s gift to music included the following accomplishments: Performing at age 4 with her sister, Dottie Parker, on a National Live Radio Broadcast and they also won the Amateur State of Texas contest at ages 12 and 13; Choral Director of the Abilene Barbershop Chorus from 1948 to 1949; Soloist for the Air Force Overseas Tour of the Cowboy Band from Hardin Simmons University from 1957 to 1958; Selected for the Pilot Program of the Arts and Humanities during the summer of 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin; Chaperone for the Pilot Program of the Performing Arts, London, England, in the summer of 1972; Gerri Shaw Weatherby and her splendid choirs composed of talented artists will long linger in the minds of those recipients of her recitals and performances. Gerri was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers Millard Shaw Jr. and Guy W. Shaw. Survivors include her daughters, Gerrianne Cheek and husband, Rocky, of Spring Branch, Texas, and Annetta Jean Simpson and husband, John, of Flower Mound, Texas; sister, Dottie Shaw Parker of Abilene and sister-in-law, Dolores Shaw of Abilene; four grandchilden, Angela, Amy, Rocky James and Morgan and seven great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, December 7, 2007, at the First Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas. Dr. Don Benton, a beloved friend, along with Dr. Phil Christopher will be officiating. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home located at 542 Hickory. Memorials may be made to the Shaw Music Scholarship Fund at Hardin Simmons University, P.O. Box 16100, Abilene, Texas 79698 or the Lon Morris College, Music Department, Jacksonville, Texas. Published in the Jacksonville Daily Progress on 12/5/2007.

Information from The Jacksonville Daily Progress