Capt. Oscar Gene Shaw Jr., 48, died Saturday, May 21, 2011, at his home in Rockport. He was a former ferryboat captain in Port Aransas for Texas Department of Transportation.

Shaw was born in Oakland, Calif., but raised in Refugio by his grandmother, the late Velma Hazel Shaw.

In 1995, he became the first African American ferryboat captain at Port Aransas. He was licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard and employed at TxDOT for more than 20 years, working the last year in maintenance due to his illness, and was recognized by the state for 13 years at the ferry without an accident. Prior employment had been in maintenance at Sandcastle Condominiums in Port Aransas for six years.

He participated in Little League, basketball, football and other activities with his children, often in a coaching capacity. He also was active in men’s dart and softball leagues.

Shaw had attended Temple of Praise Church and more recently Real Life Fellowship.

Survivors include his fiancé, Yvette Whitley of Rockport; mother, Frankie Smith of Rialto, Calif.; children, Oscar Gene (Trey) Shaw III and Jordan Mathew Shaw and their mother Betty Logsdon, Cassandra Genae Shaw and her mother Juliania Longoria of Colts Neck, N.J., and Haley Rae Shaw and her mother Paula Alvarado of Aransas Pass; step-daughters Brittany Logsdon and Ana Logsdon of Ingleside; foster daughter, Nicole Henderson of Refugio and her mother Starline Henderson of Houston; brothers, DeWayne Terry Cornell of Oakland, Calif. and Marcus Eugene Shaw of Tacoma, Wash.; sisters Belinda Pearl Shaw of Oakland, Tiana Shaw of San Francisco, Calif. and Odesbah (Peaches) Perkins of Rialto.

Preceding him in death, besides his grandmother, was his brother, Mathew Shaw.

Visitation will be held at Charlie Marshall Funeral Home in Aransas Pass today, Thursday, May 26, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Services will follow at Aransas Pass First Baptist Church at 4 p. m. Shaw will lie in state at Moore Funeral Home in Refugio on Friday, May 27, from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday viewing will be 9 a.m. till services at 1 p.m. in Moore’s Chapel. A brief graveside service also will be held at the Refugio Community Cemetery following Saturday’s service.