James Edward Shay, 74, of Kingwood, passed away Tuesday, April 19, 2022, after a long battle with complications from Parkinson’s Disease.
The son of the late Edward Shay and the late Eleanor (Lucas) Shay, he was born on June 16, 1947, in Oakland, Md.
Jim was a loving and faithful husband, father and grandfather.
He enjoyed spending time with his five grandchildren and was a very talented handyman. Jim also loved spending time and summer holidays at Big Bear Lake with his family and enjoyed going on cruises and annual fishing trips to Gandy Creek in Randolph County.
Jim enjoyed “tinkering” around the house at various projects and was a collector of many types of tools.
Jim graduated from Kingwood High School in Kingwood. He later graduated from Penn Technical Institute in Pittsburgh, where he trained to become an electrician. Jim retired as an electrician from the Albright Power Station after a career of nearly 30 years there.
Prior to his work as an electrician, Jim worked at several places around Kingwood, such as Marvin Ware Chevrolet and as a butcher at the Kingwood Foodland store, and early on was co-owner and operator with his wife, Jackie, of Shay’s Exxon in the heart of Kingwood for five years.
Jim was formerly a chief of the Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department.
Jim was preceded in death by his loving wife of 51 years, Jackie Shay. Jim is survived by his daughter and son and their spouses: Jenny (Shay) Baylor and Scott Baylor, of Gladesville; Jay Shay and April (Darby) Shay, of Bruceton Mills; five grandchildren: Alyssa and Morgan Baylor and Will, Owen and Jackson Shay; his sister, Linda Shay, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; his sisters-in-law, Diana (Cartwright) Newsome, of Reedsville, and Candy (Born) Wolfe and her spouse, Bob, of Reedsville; a brother-in-law, Larry Haney, of Kingwood; a sister-in-law, Sharon (Fields) McMillen and her spouse, Pat, of Morgantown; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to his wife and parents, Jim was preceded in death by his brother, Gary Shay; his father and mother-in-law, Harry and Lena Fields; three brothers-in-law, Gary, Gerald and Rick Newsome; and one sister-in-law, Sheila (Fields) Haney.
In honor of his final wishes, Jim’s remains will be cremated. Family and friends may call at the Browning Funeral Home in Kingwood, which is assisting the family with arrangements for a memorial service and celebration of his life from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, May 7.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which can be made online at michaeljfox.org/donate, by phone at 1-800-708-7644 or by US Mail at Donation Processing, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.
Donation forms are available online.
