Mary Todd Shaw, Cls 42, of Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 20. Shaw was one of the first women to attend Georgia Tech as part of the Manpower Act under the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service. According to her obituary, she went on to become a draftswoman for the U.S. War Department during World War II. Working at home to support the troops abroad, she designed gas masks and flame-throwers. In the 1970s, Shaw attended the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. She enjoyed all types of art, including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, and collage. One of her favorite forms of expression was three-dimensional assemblage. Her work has been shown worldwide and published in several books as well as in museums and private collections.
Mary Todd was an adventurous traveler who explored the world with a life-size black-and-white mask of a handlebar-mustachioed relative she named “Henry the Victorian Man.” Mary Todd chronicled her travels with photos of a vast array of people assuming his likeness. According to family, she was never afraid to take risks or to appear undignified as she pursued her artistic vision and joy of life.
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