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Clark resident Sancy Shaw remembered as supermom, beloved teacher, believer of Christ

Nicole Miller / Steamboat Pilot & Today

Sancy Shaw and her husband, Brett. (Courtesy photo)

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Clark resident and North Routt Community Charter School teacher Sancy Shaw is being remembered as an amazing mother of four and pillar in the North Routt community.

Shaw, 38, was killed Christmas Eve in a crash on Interstate 70 near Genesee and the exit for U.S. Highway 40, and Shaw’s 6-year-old daughter Charlee, who was a passenger in the car, was transported to Children’s Hospital in Aurora in critical condition.

Charlee suffered a brain injury and a broken femur in the crash, according to a Caring Bridgepage that has been set up to update the community about her progress.

The crash also killed a 62-year-old Frederick woman, who is suspected of being impaired, Colorado State Patrol spokesman Gary Cutler said.

The North Routt school held a candlelight vigil and open house Wednesday evening for community members to light candles and leave notes of support. The Routt County Community Crisis Support Team also was made available to help those who are grieving, said school counselor and health and wellness teacher Molly Lotz, who also is a member of the Crisis Support Team.

“Sancy was profoundly important to that school and the culture of that school and everyone there,” Lotz said. “The loss is tremendous, not only in the school but in the community, and I’m not quite sure how we’re going to get our heads around that.”

When students return to school Jan. 7, staff will be ready, Lotz said.

“As a staff and a community, we need time to grieve, also knowing we need to be ready as a team to support each other and students upon return on the first day back at school,” she said.

Throughout the grieving process, Lotz said staff will focus on continuing Shaw’s legacy of caring and loving each other.

Shaw began teaching at the North Routt school in fall 2017, when her youngest child Charlee began kindergarten. Shaw taught fifth and sixth grades as well as science and English to fifth- through eighth-graders.

“I think she came to teaching late because she raised all four of her babies as a stay-at-home mom,” Lotz said about Charlee and Shaw’s three sons Wyatt, Mason and Jaxon, who all attend the school. “It quickly became her passion and apparent how much it was her calling, along with being mom.”

Though Shaw was new to her career in teaching, Lotz said the transition was seamless and Shaw quickly became an integral part of the team.

“The impact she had on those kids will never be forgotten in the time she was there, and we were lucky to have her,” Lotz said.

Sancy and Brett Shaw’s four children, Charlee, Wyatt, Mason and Jaxon. (Courtesy photo)

Libby Meyring, an instructional coach at the school, said Shaw often led the students on outdoor trips on Friday afternoons in addition to her teaching duties.

Shaw — who graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in secondary education with an emphasis in biology and a minor in Earth and space science — often took the students on trips that were centered around water, including fly-fishing and learning about the health of rivers, Meyring said.

“As a teacher, one of the things that I really valued and was in awe of the most was her ability to connect with each individual student,” Meyring said. “She really made each student really feel like they were her favorite student.”

Emerald Mountain School teacher Dave Marrs — who owns Steamboat Springs Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Shaw’s husband, Brett, and Nate Daughenbaugh — said the tragic loss was hard to put into words, but he remembered Shaw as witty, supportive, funny and an amazing teacher and mother.

“Sancy is one of those people that many other moms would refer to as a ‘supermom,’” Marrs said.

In addition to her four children, Shaw also was like a mother to all the kids at school.

“Her ability to meet those kids at their level and help them progress, not just at school but emotionally and socially … was inspiring,” Marrs said.

Shaw’s family, including her brothers Luke and Ryan Florquist, remember her most for her faith and her support, saying she had words of wisdom and insight for those who were struggling.

“She was absolutely a believer of Christ, had Christ in her heart,” Luke Florquist said. “She lived every day to live that out and share that with people around her.”

He said his family has found comfort in that.

“She lived for the Lord,” he said. “We know where she went. We know what her life was lived for.”

To reach Nicole Miller, call 970-871-4206, email nmiller@SteamboatPilot.com or follow her on Twitter @millerna.


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