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February 25, 2005Former TC resident dies in Calif. stormsHe worked in public safety as an engineerByRecord-Eagle staff writer  Rory M. Shaw, who worked as a chief emergency construction engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Public Works, died Sunday. Shaw, 47, was remembered at a memorial service at the Los Angeles City Hall Thursday attended by roughly 700 people, said Cora Jackson Fossett, spokeswoman for the public works department. Shaw attended school in Traverse City and graduated from Traverse City High School about 1975, said his uncle, Peter G. Rozich, of Grand Ledge. After leaving Traverse City, Shaw earned a degree in mathematics from Michigan State University and joined the Navy where he worked on a nuclear submarine. He returned to MSU and earned a degree in civil engineering and took a job with the Los Angeles Department of Public Works in the early 1990s. "He was just a wonderful young man and it's just a real tragedy," Rozich said. "He was just trying to do his job in the best way possible and it didn't work out." Fossett said Shaw responded to a sinkhole call in an industrial area Sunday in heavy rain. "In emergencies such as this, usually public safety (employees) like fire and police are the ones who get a lot of the credit, but public service employees deserve a lot of the credit as well," Fossett said. Fossett said the turnout at Shaw's memorial service - which included the city's mayor and several city council members - demonstrated how well-respected Shaw was. "He was just an enthusiastic, down-to-earth, upbeat and knowledgeable individual," Fossett said. "Once you met him, you have such confidence in his assessment of situations." Storms across California claimed at least nine victims since last week, according to the Associated Press.
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