In the end, he was the best story

Last weekend some friends of Spencer Shaw's got together to remember him.

Shaw retired in 1986 after 17 years teaching at the University of Washington, a short time in his 60-year career, but his presence still echoes here.

He died in June at 93. The Times carried a nicely done obituary, but Seattle isn't done with Dr. Shaw yet.

Lois Price Spratlen, who like Shaw is a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia, organized the memorial. She was for many years the UW ombudsman and a friend of Shaw's.

Her hope is to enlist other groups with ties to Shaw to have an annual event to honor him and carry on his legacy.

Shaw was a librarian whose specialty was literature for children and young adults. He was a lover of stories and a master storyteller who traveled the world teaching and practicing his art.

He believed in the power of stories to shape lives and to give people windows into cultures different from their own.

Stories are a critical part of being human, and he reminded people of that.

At the memorial last weekend, librarian Gloria Leonard said she met Shaw 40 years ago when she was in her 20s and working on her master's degree in library science.

"I learned much more than what was outlined in the class syllabus," she said.

He taught her how to use books as bridges across cultures and religions. He encouraged persistence in the face of difficulty and said that the life best lived is a life in service to others. Well, he didn't just say that, he demonstrated it, and that as much as his library work is why he will continue to be remembered.

Shaw accumulated a long list of awards and firsts, but individual kindnesses were at the heart of most of the stories about him on Saturday.

Dennis Carlisle, a Seattle librarian, said that when he arrived in Seattle fresh out of graduate school and knowing no one, he called Shaw, who had been recommended by one of Carlisle's professors.

Shaw bought him dinner and became a friend and mentor.

The Rev. Eric Chavis said that when he arrived in Seattle to take a position with the Presbyterian synod, Shaw, an avid church volunteer, helped him make social connections here.

Shaw was active in numerous groups for librarians and storytellers. He helped put the Black Heritage Society of Washington State on sound footing and remained a supporter of the UW until his death.

Each year after he moved back to his native Connecticut, Shaw came back to Seattle to attend the lecture series the UW Information School created in his honor. The school maintains a Web site, spencergshaw.org, where people can read more about his work and contribute to the lecture series.

At the memorial, the Rev. Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir sang several numbers including a medley centered on, "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)."

Appropriately some folks remembered Shaw with stories.

Librarian and storyteller Debra Harris-Branham performed part of an Eloise Greenfield poem the way she'd seen Shaw do it, with swagger and snapping fingers.

"Went to the corner store. Walked in the store. Bought me some candy. Ain't got it no more. Ain't got it no more.

"... Went to the kitchen. Lay down on the floor. Made me a poem. Still got it. Still got it."

Leonard recounted the bridge-builder poem about an old man traveling cold and tired. He came to a stream and with difficulty crossed it, then turned to build a bridge to the other side.

Someone asked why, when he'd made it across, would he do that? He said some young man would be coming along and he'd need that bridge."

Leonard, choking back tears, said Shaw was a bridge builder.

No one who has walked across one of his bridges will forget Spencer Shaw.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.