TRAVERSE CITY — William Stewart Shaw passed peacefully into an eternal life with his Lord and Savior Oct. 15, 2011, at home surrounded by his family."Bill" was born on the family homestead in rural Haubstadt, Ind., on July 19, 1923, to Velma "Muriel" (Stewart) and Carl Clark Shaw. Bill graduated from Haubstadt High School in 1941. With his country at war, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and entered active duty on Jan. 25, 1943. His training as a radar technician took him to California and Texas, where he was assigned to a 120mm anti-aircraft battalion. His 24-month stint as a technician and operator of the SCR-584 radar included six months of island defense of Hawaii, followed by six months of duty on Okinawa, Japan. During this period, Bill participated in tests of tin-foil radar jamming, as well as electronic jamming. Following the Japanese surrender and the close of the war in the Pacific, Bill was honorably discharged on March 14, 1946. On March 8, 1947, he married Bettie Ruth Woolston of Fort Branch, Ind., in Chicago.Taking his military expertise into civilian life, Bill joined the Civil Aeronautics Agency (later the FAA) as a radar technician. During his 30 years of civil service, Bill took positions in Dayton, Ohio; Evansville, Lafayette and Indianapolis, Ind., before transferring to the Empire Air Station in July of 1967. He served as chief electronics engineer at the FAA's radar site there until his retirement in 1978.Bill and Bettie spent a portion of their retirement years on the family homestead in Haubstadt and their home in Bradenton, Fla., before moving back to Traverse City in 1998. They also enjoyed quiet times at their cottages on Pearl Lake (Benzie County), and later, Log Lake (Kalkaska County).Survivors include Bettie, his wife of 64 years; children, Bonita (Scott Schlagel), of Traverse City, Douglas (Paula Somers), of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Jeffrey (Robin Csercse), of Traverse City; grandchildren, Amy (Franks) and Curtis Shaw (Melissa Junkins), of Fort Wayne, Ind., Carrie (Matt White) and Katelyn, of Traverse City, great-grandchildren, Anna and Jacob Franks, of Fort Wayne; and a brother, Paul Shaw, of Louisville, Ky.Bill was preceded in death by brother, Wayne Shaw, of Wadesville, Ind.; and a sister, Virginia (Charles Bergman), of Chicago.Bill will be remembered by family and friends for his willingness and desire to serve his Lord wherever his home congregation was; his quiet manner, quick wit and dry sense of humor, which he retained to the last hours of his life. Bill took great pride in his service to his country, in later years rarely venturing out of the house without his WWII Veteran cap.Visitation for family and friends will be Thursday, Oct. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.The funeral will be held 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 21, also at the funeral home. Military honors will be provided by Cherryland Post #2780.Memorial contributions may be directed to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.Please visit www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com to share your thoughts and memories with the family.The family is being served by Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.