PHOENIX, Ariz. – Father Charles E. Shaw, founding principal of East Catholic High School in Manchester, died on Nov. 18, 2011, in Phoenix.

He was born on July 16, 1926, in Bridgeport, the son of the late Ernest and Helen Grogan Shaw. He attended Fairfield College Preparatory School in Fairfield, St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 3, 1951, at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, by Bishop Henry J. O’Brien.

His first assignment was to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Naugatuck, and he was quickly tapped to serve as the principal of the parish elementary school, where he stayed until 1956. His subsequent assignments included service as principal of Immaculate Conception Parish School in Hartford, until 1959, and as assistant to the superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Hartford.

In 1961, he was chosen to be the founding principal of East Catholic High School, and served there until 1970. He then enrolled in a master’s degree program in counseling at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, and was hired later that year as a counselor at St. Joseph College in West Hartford. Within months, he was named the college’s academic dean.

In 1977, following recovery from a health challenge, Father Shaw was appointed director of guidance counseling at the former St. Thomas Aquinas High School in New Britain. He remained there until 1988, when he retired.

He was preceded in death by his sisters, Kay Shaw Naylor and Sallye Shaw Devitt. He is survived by nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews and cousins.

Father Shaw also held a master’s degree in administration from Fairfield University and, in 1975, earned a doctoral degree in administration and political science with high honors from the University of Connecticut. Among his many achievements was his appointment in 1977 to the Connecticut State Board of Higher Education.

At the suggestion of his doctors, he relocated to Arizona in 1994.

Father Shaw was a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish since moving to Phoenix. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Nov. 30 at St. Thomas. Donations in Father Shaw’s memory may be sent to Ryan House, Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix, AZ 85013.