Annette Joy Shaw Kinzalow was born in Chicago, IL the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 1937. She was the fourth child of Annette Pauline Lach Shaw of Poland and James Harold Shaw of Nashville, TN. Named Joy by her father, because she was his pride and “joy”, she graduated Steinmetz High School in 1956. She was a majorette and a member of the synchronized swim team.
She married Richard Kinzalow in 1956 and was the backbone of the family. An extraordinary cook, she was the most fierce and loyal partner he could have ever dreamed of having. It was important to her that she raise three strong, independent daughters and she did. Cheryl, Sandy and Tami had an amazing role model and Joy was a feminist before anyone knew what that meant. It was equally important that she raise a “good” son and she was successful in that as well. Buddy was her fourth and final child.
Joy was the manager of Rhea County High School cafeteria for many years and, like it or not, contributed to raising many of the kids that crossed her path. In equal parts they loved her, feared her and respected her.
Joy was instrumental in the start and success of the family electronics business. She knew how to get things done and was above all things, practical. She was incredibly successful but never forgot her humble beginnings or what it was like not to have. She was generous with her time, her energies, her food, her home but most of all she was generous with her love. She had an endless and relentless capacity for love and there is no better legacy to leave.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, her father Harold, her mother Pauline, her brothers Harold, Howard and her sister, Audrey.
She is survived by her daughters, Cheryl, Sandy, Tami and her son, Buddy; nine grandchildren, special niece Sharon; several nieces and nephews and her enormous extended family that will miss her biting wit, her generosity and her ability to love them no matter what.
A party will be held at a later date to celebrate the extraordinary life of this self-proclaimed “bad broad from Chicago”. If you would like to honor her memory you can make a donation to Shriner Children’s Hospital or the Salvation Army.
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