Bob Shay’s legacy: "All we want is your best"
33-year Blaine County teacher, coach passes away at 73
Fair, firm and optimistic, Ketchum resident Shay guided generations of
Blaine County students through the pitfalls of adolescence with a simple
philosophy—one that has been adopted as a guiding light at Hailey’s Wood River
High School. He advised his charges, "All we want is your best."
By JEFF CORDES's
Express Sports Editor
The Wood River Valley lost one of its towering leaders this week—and
Blaine County youth lost a tireless advocate of education.
Generations of Blaine County athletes felt Bob
Shay’s friendly hand of support on their shoulders as they passed through
adolescence. He was there, in the good times and bad, to help them along. Here, Wood River
High School senior Paul Christiansen relaxes after his school-record 20-foot, 10--inch
long jump at Bruin Stadium in Twin Falls on May 10, 1979. Behind Christiansen is coach
Shay, proud that the young man had done the best he could. Express photo by Jeff Cordes
Bob Shay, dean of Blaine County athletic coaches, who taught in the school
district for 33 years prior to his retirement in 1988, died of a short illness Sunday at
Wood River Medical Center in Sun Valley. He was 73.
Funeral services have been scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Our Lady of
the Snows Catholic Church in Sun Valley.
Fair, firm and optimistic, Ketchum resident Shay guided generations of
Blaine County students through the pitfalls of adolescence with a simple
philosophy—one that has been adopted as a guiding light at Hailey’s Wood River
High School.
He advised his charges, "All we want is your best." Repeating
the same message year after year, Shay acknowledged that people have different abilities
and goals, but all people share a desire to improve themselves and contribute to society.
Shay’s work ethic, caring nature and determination to achieve mental
and physical fitness were fine examples to students at Carey School, where he taught and
coached from 1956-61, and subsequently at Hailey and Wood River high schools, where he
coached and taught biology and physical education from 1961-88.
For many years Shay coached high school students each season—cross
country in the fall, wrestling in the winter, track in the spring and American Legion
baseball in the summer. A U.S. Army veteran, Shay founded the Wood River American Legion
baseball program in 1975.
John Shay, Bob’s elder son, said, "Dad was the type of person
who commanded respect, although not in an authoritarian way.
"I had a fantastic relationship with my dad. From Little League on
through, he was there for me all the time. I have good memories of driving to school with
him every single day during my high school years."
Coach Shay, a native of Ohio and a lifelong Cleveland Indians fan, started
feeling the effects of Parkinson’s Disease the year he retired, in 1988. Two years
later his beloved wife JoAnn died at age 56 after a lengthy battle with Lou Gehrig’s
Disease.
Bob and JoAnn Shay’s quiet dignity and sense of duty live on through
their three children, all Wood River High School graduates, and their four grandchildren.
Sue Shay, now Mrs. Randy Roberts, is a Frontiers missionary living in the
country of Jordan. The couple has two children, Abigail, age 2, and David, age 6 months.
Bellevue resident John Shay is a Blaine County Recreation District board
member who has been a high school basketball referee in southern Idaho. He and his wife
Diane have two children, Ellie, 6, and Jillian, 3.
After the elder Shay fell and banged his head while hiking last year, his
youngest son, Bob, moved out to the Shay house north of Ketchum and for eight months
provided great support and comfort to his father prior to his final illness.
Parkinson’s Disease took its toll physically, but Shay was mentally
alert and inquisitive until the end. He was constantly asking friends for updates about
Wood River High School sports teams. He was able to recognize former students and find joy
in their accomplishments.
And he bore the problems of aging with grace. John Shay said, "Dad
never complained. He was always smiling. I guess he’s better off now. He’s
always been very active, but he wasn’t able to do much at all the last few
months."
