Jon Joseph Shaw

Jon Joseph Shaw, 58, passed away peacefully on the evening of December 20th, 2018. He was born on January 22nd, 1960 in Hamilton, Ohio to Esther and Rahe Shaw, and grew up in Mt. Carmel, Indiana. He completed his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, and his Masters in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan. His career as an aerospace engineer spanned 25 years, beginning in Sunnyvale, California at Lockheed-Martin. He then moved to Maryland to work for Swales & Associates which eventually became part of OrbitalATK.  He worked with NASA and related agencies on numerous projects such as the Hubble Space Telescope servicing misions, WFIRST Space Telescope, Mars Sample Analysis, ATMS, GOES, ICON, ISIM/JWST, and TIRS2. He married the love of his life, Molly Gardner, in 2001, in Hughestown, Pennsylvania. Jon’s brilliance in aerospace engineering was matched also in his talent for woodworking. Jon built a timber frame home for himself and Molly from 2003 - 2010, planing all of the timbers by hand. Other projects included a floating bed for his 12-year-old niece, Ally, a firepit for his niece, Katie, and a backyard workshop for himself to continue his craft.

While Jon loved creating beautiful things, he also had a great love for exploring the world. His travels began with a road trip from his home state of Indiana to Sunnyvale, California in a car that desperately needed new tires. Despite enduring flat tires on four separate occasions, Jon’s infamous solo road trip inspired him to continue traveling the world. Among his many travels, he commonly cited his trip to Oktoberfest as a young man to be one of his favorites. He surprised Molly with her first trip to Europe under the guise of a trip to a corn museum in Iowa, and frequently spoiled his nieces with trips to the Caribbean. From Dublin to Paris, Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Playa Del Carmen, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, London, Amalfi, Seattle, Salzburg, Venice, and Juno,  it was clear that Uncle Jon fiercely loved the world, and found beauty exploring (and sometimes getting very, very lost) in new places. It is unquestionable that Jon lived life to the fullest, by both making a beautiful home in Woodbine, Maryland, and experiencing as much of the world as he possibly could with his wife, Molly.

Jon is survived by his wife Molly; his two brothers, Curtis and Dennis; his sister, Anita; his six nieces, Katie, Ally, Laura, Denise, Amanda, and Jessica; his nephew, Jason; and is predeceased by his parents, Ester and Rahe and his nephew, Michael. Family, friends, and those whose lives were touched by Jon are invited to Candle Light Funeral Home by Craig Witzke in Catonsville, Maryland from 5 - 8 pm on Wednesday, December 26th, 2018, and from 10 - 11am on Thursday, December 27th, 2018 for visitation. Funeral services will immediately follow Thursday’s visitation, beginning at 11am. Burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery in Marriottsville, Maryland.