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Sixty-five years of marriage

‘It feels like we’ve been married forever’

By Angie Landsverk


The story of Rev. Barry and Ruby Shaw began on a bus.

“I have a twin sister. She and I and Barry and his roommate were all going to a church-related conference,” Ruby said.
Ruby’s sister started talking to Barry’s roommate.

It was noisy on the bus, so she moved to sit near him.

“And you got stuck with me,” Barry said.

Barry thought Ruby looked interesting.

“We started to hang out a bit at the conference,” he said.

They were on their way to Lawrence, Kansas in late 1953, to attend a national Methodist conference for youth at the University of Kansas.

Both Ruby and Barry were college students at the time.

She was studying business education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

He was studying history at the former Carroll College in Waukesha.

Their courtship soon began.

After Barry graduated, they decided that if they were ever going to see each other, they should get married, Ruby said.

He was preparing to go to seminary, and she had a year of college left.

“We talked about it in June and got married the end of July,” Ruby said.

That included a conversation with her parents.

Ruby’s dad said no, because she had a year of school left.

“We said yes,” Barry said.

They were married on July 30, 1955, and are celebrating 65 years of marriage.

“At this point, it feels like we’ve been married forever,” Barry said. “That’s a plus.”

He said, “We all go through stages in our marriages.”

Communication is important in a marriage, Barry said.

Ruby sees serving others as a way for couples to bond.

Throughout their marriage, they have supported various efforts and social causes.

“It just broadens you, and it helps you appreciate the things you do have,” she said.

Careers

Barry spent a total of 39 years in ministry.

He served at Methodist churches in various parts of state, including 10 years at First United Methodist Church in Waupaca.

Barry was also the chaplain at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King for 12 1/2 years.

Ruby’s career included working at a technical school in Sheboygan, teaching business education in the Amherst School District and working at Waupaca Foundry.

The two of them retired in 1994, and have enjoyed traveling throughout the world.

“We’re so fortunate where we live, and our family’s all involved in people issues,” she said.

Barry and Ruby have four children (Judy, John, Jeanne and Joy), six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

They also have an AFS son from Switzerland.

Philippe Sormani lived here with the Shaws during the 1975-76 school year.

The COVID-19 pandemic means Barry and Shaw’s 65th anniversary will be a quiet one.

A Zoom meeting with their family is planned.

“We might go out for a long walk,” Ruby said.

Barry said they like to go to Hartman Creek State Park.

If not for the virus, they likely would have planned a dinner out.

“We’ll see. We’ll find something to do,” Ruby said.

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