Dominican Sister of Peace Elaine Shaw, 91, died April 28, 2026, at Sansbury Health Care Center in St. Catharine, Kentucky. She was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, and entered the congregation in 1958. She professed her final vows in 1965. 
Sr. Elaine was a devoted Dominican for 65 years. She has a long history of ministering in the field of medical care as nurse, supervisor, medical records coder, pediatric nurse, and natural family planning director.  She served at care centers and hospitals across the country including Sansbury Care Center, Mary Immaculate Hospital in Kentucky, St. John Hospital in Nebraska, St. John Gaston and St. Jude Children’s Hospitals in Tennessee, and St. Joseph Hospital in Illinois. 
Sister Elaine also served as a pastoral associate at Holy Name Parish in Tennessee, a chaplain at Sturdy Memorial Hospital and a hospice chaplain for Visiting Nurses, in Massachusetts. She provided community service at the St. Catharine Motherhouse for more than 20 years and began a ministry of prayer and presence at Sansbury Care Center in 2021. 
During a reflection during her Mass of Resurrection at the Sansbury Care Center Chapel, Sr. Rose Marie Cummins, OP said, “Elaine chose the gospel from Luke on the beatitudes for her last words to us.  She did not grow up as a privileged child, and this led her to a real concern for justice and appreciation for those on the margins. She chose by the way she lived, dressed, thought, ministered, and acted to be one with the poor…she chose nursing to live out her care for others and her search for God. Elaine had truly difficult afflictions in life that made her weep, but I can imagine her now with a hearty laugh in meeting that God she so sought.” 
Sr. Elaine Shaw earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Creighton University (Omaha, NE) and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University (Chicago, IL).   
Sr. Elaine is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Memorial gifts in Sister’s memory may be sent to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement 2320 Airport Drive, Columbus, OH 43219, or submitted securely by going here.