Former Daily News publisher E.K. Shaw dies
By JESSICA LOWE NDN Staff Writer
Long-time newspaper man and former Newton Daily News publisher E.K. Shaw has died, leaving behind a legacy of community service and generosity during his six decades in journalism.
Eustace Kilgour “E.K.” Shaw, 84, who was known throughout Newton as both an integral force in the community and the newspaper industry, died at the Hospice of Jasper County Monarch Wing at Skiff Medical Center in Newton on Friday.
Shaw was born on July 12, 1925, to Robert E. and Susan Kilgour Shaw in Dixon, Ill. He began working in the family business part time in 1936 as a “fly-boy” for the Dixon Telegraph where he would take newspapers off the press, sweep up metal from underneath the linotype machines for reuse, melt the lead, paint and perform other tasks.
He attended Dixon High School and attended college at Milligan College in Johnson City, Tenn., and De-Pauw University in Greencastle, Ind.
In college he joined the V-12 Navy College Training program, which was designed to supplement the force of commissioned Naval officers during World War II. In the Navy, he piloted PBYs, flying boats used in anti-submarine warfare, patrol bombing, convoy escorts, search and rescue missions and cargo transports in Panama, Galapagos Islands and Nicaragua.
While still in the Navy, Shaw married Nancy Kochs on June 26, 1945. He was discharged from the Navy as a Seaman 1st Class in January 1946.
The Shaws moved to Newton in February 1948 and had two sons, Bill and Bob. After moving to Newton, Shaw went to work at the Newton Daily News in the classified department. He worked his way through the newspaper’s ranks and was named publisher in 1960.
“I would have to say E.K. was the most successful publisher The News has ever had,” said Wendell Wendt, who worked with Shaw from 1948 to 1980 at the Daily News.
Shaw remained publisher of the Daily News until 1981. He was named vice president of the Shaw board in 1967, and was vice president and treasurer from 1973 to 1978, when he was named company president. He became chairman of the board in 1993, and retired in August 2003.
Upon his retirement, the company honored the newspaperman’s 67 years of service by naming and endowing a prominent scholarship bearing his name with the Iowa Newspaper Foundation.
As news of Shaw’s death spread throughout the Newton community, friends and colleagues remembered the newspaper giant for his professional work and his giving spirit.
“He was very quiet, very dignified but he had a great sense of community and generosity,” said Mike Chapman, who became friends with Shaw while serving as publisher of the Daily News from 1999 to 2002. “And he really understood the newspaper business from A to Z. He was somebody who loved it.
“E.K. had a gruff exterior and a stern look but he was really, really a good man,” Chapman said. “He was just a very, very good man. I thought the world of him and looked at him as a mentor and a good friend.”
Shaw also is being remembered as a generous man of the community. In February 2008, he and Nancy, his wife of 64 years, donated $750,000 to the Newton YMCA to honor former YMCA executive director Marv Zimmermann. At the time, YMCA Executive Director Tom Vanderlaan called the donation “a marvelous gift.”
“What a loss of a great man,” said Vanderlaan about Shaw’s passing. “I always enjoyed the time I got to spend with him and could just listen to him talk for hours about so many subjects. E.K. and Nancy have always been great supporters of the YMCA, I’m just sorry E.K. didn’t get a chance to see how his gift would honor his friend Marv because that’s why he made the donation.”
A memorial service for Shaw is scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday at Congregational United Church of Christ in Newton. The family will greet friends at the Shaw family home following services. The Shaw family also has designated the Newton YMCA as the recipient of memorials in the family patriarch’s honor.
Shaw is survived by his wife Nancy of Newton, sons William “Bill” E. (Amy) Shaw of Grand Detour, Ill.; Robert “Bob” A. (Lillian) Shaw of Taos, N.M.; grandchildren, Charles (Carrie) Shaw, Meredith Shaw, Michael (Liz) Shaw and William Shaw; and sister, Janet (Bill) Loring of Fruita, Colo.
Jessica Lowe can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 426 or via e-mail at jlowe@newtondailynews.com.
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