On October 2nd, 2026, Caleb Swan Shaw went home to be with Jesus after a period of declining health. He was born February 13, 1953, in Boston, Massachusetts, to the late Dr. Robert S. Shaw Sr. and Laura (Higgins) Shaw Field Anderson. He was raised and educated locally in Weston, MA, and graduated from Weston High School. Caleb traveled to Golspie, Scotland to continue his education at the Dunrobin School and then to Boston University to pursue a career in writing.

Caleb was married to Grace (Moore) Shaw for 36 fulfilling years. When Caleb fell in love with Grace, he didn't simply choose her, he chose her children, Taina, Troy, and Lianne, because loving Grace meant loving the life that came with her. He embraced the responsibility of being a dad, and through everyday actions, showed his devotion as their father. Their family later became complete with the births of Charlie and Israel. Those five children grew into five families with fifteen grandchildren. This became the greatest story of Caleb’s life.

Caleb was never a man particularly concerned with doing life the way everyone else did. He didn’t need things to be perfect to find them beautiful.

He was brilliant, creative, deeply curious, a little messy, wonderfully humble, and completely comfortable being himself. He valued relationships and experiences over material things. He had a passion for working in his garden and getting his hands in the dirt. He enjoyed the companionship of his goats and his dogs. He could write a song on his four-string guitar, tell a story that drew people in, and identify every plant growing around him (including what to eat and what not to). He had a relentless enthusiasm for weather and nature, never missing an opportunity to share his observations.

At heart, Caleb was a writer.

He began keeping journals when he was only eight years old and continued documenting his thoughts throughout his life. He wrote many books, songs, and sonnets—not because they needed to be sold or recognized, but because he had stories and ideas inside of him that needed somewhere to go. Writing was an indispensable part of who he was.

Many of the things Caleb loved the most came together in 2007, when he and Grace started Ebenezer Farm Childcare and Preschool in New Ipswich, New Hampshire. Everyone adored Mr. Shaw. Children would trail behind him around the farm, almost like sheep following a shepherd. For two decades Mr. Shaw gave countless children something increasingly rare: the freedom to be curious, to get dirty, to explore, to ask questions, to notice the natural world, and to learn from someone who never lost his own sense of wonder.

During the last years of his life, Caleb depended on supplemental oxygen, yet he would say that Grace was his real oxygen. It was Caleb’s way of saying something his family already knew: Grace was everything to him.

Caleb is survived by his wife, Grace (Moore) Shaw; his children, Taina Knisley and her husband, Jesse; Troy Shaw and his wife, Selena; Lianne Gianninoto and her husband, Joel; Charles Shaw and his wife, Rebecca; and Israel Shaw and his wife, Esther; and his 15 grandchildren. Caleb was one of six children, survived by his siblings Robert Shaw Jr. and Susanna Still; Christopher Shaw; Elisabeth (Libby) Shaw and her husband James Bredt; Arthur (Oni) Shaw and his wife Julie Campbell; Caroline (Cori) Distler and her husband John. He was predeceased by his parents.

Caleb leaves behind much more than material things of which life is often summarized by. He lived differently. He loved God deeply, living out his faith always, and always truly believing in God's redeeming love for all.

He leaves the gardens he planted, books, songs, sonnets, blogs, and a lifetime of journals he wrote. He leaves the stories his family will tell again and again. He leaves generations of wonder-filled children. He leaves his family instilled with the wisdom he shared, the gift to notice beauty everywhere and the value of living with gratitude.

After years of watching his health decline, those who love Caleb, grieve his absence while also holding tightly to the hope of what is next. The body that had become tired and sick, no longer holds him. For his family, saying goodbye is profoundly bittersweet as they find comfort knowing that his story does not end here. Caleb is home with Jesus.

Please join Caleb's family at his Memorial Service and Celebration of Life on Sunday, October 11, 2026, beginning at 2:30 pm at Ebenezer Farm, 144 Thayer Road, New Ipswich, NH 03071.

In lieu of flowers, Caleb's family requests that you bring a memory or short story to share with everyone on Sunday.