WS Chronicle

Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree

Members of the clergy aren’t the only ones called to their profession. With a heart of gold and an innate instinct for helping others, Clementine Shaw was destined to become a nurse.

Her dedication to the art of healing showed in her work. In 1960, she received her initial training at the venerable Kate B. Reynolds Hospital – once the city’s premier medical facility for African Americans. By 1965, Shaw was named the hospital’s head of nursing; three years later, she was put in charge of the entire nursing staff as the nursing supervisor.

In the 1970s, Clem – as she is affectionately known – began a decades-long career at nursing and retirement homes, where she would truly live up to the “Angel of mercy” title. Over the span of 25 years, Shaw served as director of nursing at a number of facilities, including the Moravian Home, Manor Care and the GrayBrier Retirement Community.

Wherever she worked, Shaw set a high standard of excellence for patient care. Her brand of quality nursing earned her kudos from patients, their families and her colleagues.

The devoted wife, mother and grandmother retired after nearly 40 years of service, but her work continued. Her membership on Forsyth Tech’s CNA Advisory Board and the boards of North Carolina Environmental Management and Lutheran Services for the Aging has helped to shape nursing home policy and protocol around the state. And her leadership in groups like the Chi Eta Phi nursing sorority has influenced a new generation of nurses who, we pray, follow Shaw’s first-rate example.

For a life of commitment and service to both career and community, The Chronicle and the community are proud to honor Clementine Shaw with a Lifetime Achievement Award.