Portrait of Marcy Shaw. IMB Photo
Marcy Shaw, an International Mission Board missionary emeritus who shared the gospel in Poland and the United Kingdom, died Aug. 3, 2025. She was 71.
Marcy was born Jan. 3, 1954, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the late Howard Kohn and Sylvia Cohen. She attended Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe, California, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisiana.
She was raised in a conservative Jewish household until her father’s death when she was 5 years old. At age 16, she met Doug Shaw, and they married six months later on July 14, 1970. After their first year of marriage, Doug and Marcy settled in Lake Tahoe, California. While seeking missionary appointment Marcy recalled missionaries from Campus Crusade for Christ who shared the gospel with her repeatedly during their first summer in Lake Tahoe. She wrote, “At first, I just replied, ‘I can’t believe in Jesus, I’m Jewish.’” But then “one day the Crusader sharing with me responded, ‘I’m Jewish, too.’ … and she shared with me how a Jew could believe in Jesus. … Her witness gave me much to think about.” Several months later, Marcy came to saving faith in Christ. When Doug was saved the following summer, they were baptized together in Lake Tahoe.
Several years later, Doug felt called to missions and the pastorate, and they moved to New Orleans for seminary. At first, though Marcy also felt called, she did not want to go. She wrote, “The Lord was gracious to renew His call to me at the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans in 1990. During the Foreign Mission Board’s presentation, He clearly reminded me of a conviction early in our Christian walk that He had indeed called us to missions. … I yielded 100% to His call.”
In 1996, the International Mission Board appointed Doug and Marcy missionaries to Poland. They also served in the United Kingdom, ministering primarily among Eastern European communities.
Marcy was preceded in death by her son, Donne Shaw.
She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Douglas McClain Shaw; her son, Israel Shaw (Rachelle); her daughter, Heather Shaw Vines; her daughter-in-law Kuryn Kroutil; and five grandchildren.
A funeral service was held Aug. 13 at Parker Road Baptist Church in Florissant, Missouri, with burial in Mount Lebanon Cemetery, Saint Ann.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Lottie Moon Offering, IMB, 3806 Monument Avenue, Richmond, VA 23230, or online at Generosity Resource Center – IMB Generosity.
Read an obituary here.