Obituary: North Ender Shawn Selway ‘was out there trying to make change’

Shawn Selway sought to make Hamilton better.

The businessman and author was active in numerous causes, from preserving heritage buildings, tenancy rights, Indigenous rights, to the development and future of the city's waterfront and his beloved North End.

In November, he was arrested and charged with mischief in connection with a protest in downtown Hamilton in support of the Wet'suwet'en lands conflict in Northern B.C. The charge was dropped in January.

While a member of the North End Neighbourhood Association, he sometimes organized meetings by himself for residents to discuss proposals for the Barton-Tiffany neighbourhood, the impact of gentrification or plans to build 30-storey towers in downtown Hamilton. He also wrote opinion pieces for various publications, including The Hamilton Spectator. He - along with his wife, Sheri - was named North Ender of the Year last fall.

He really loved Hamilton, but he was aware of its warts and all," said his friend Rob Fielder. But, it didn't mean he accepted the warts. He was out there trying to make change."

Selway, died Feb. 7 at 73. He had colon cancer and chose to die through medical assistance in dying (MAID), allowing him to hear the impact he has made on others. The family received dozens of messages from people and they were read to Selway.

He would listen to them and smile," said his wife. We felt that was comforting for him."

The family has since received hundreds of messages of condolences, said his daughter Zoe Pipe.

She said her father inspired her to be active in her teaching field, she works with gifted students, and to never stop learning. She has a blog.

We had tons of books in our house and he proudly said he read them twice," said Pipe. We're all stumped with what to do with his collection."

Fielder stressed his friend was one of those people who don't want a lot of attention, but are always there." He said when his arrest in November made the news, he expressed concern it would lose focus on the hereditary bands fight against a pipeline.

The thing that mattered is that he wanted us to demand better," said Fielder, a planner. To demand better, you've got to know and understand, and better is a collective endeavour."

At some meetings, he said Selway often sat quietly in a corner, taking notes.

He was always the person who asked the question that should be asked," Fiedler added.

Selway was born Dec. 7, 1948 to Bernard and Gerda Selway. He grew up in Dundas and went to Dundas District High School. His father was a Second World War veteran and a pharmacist and his mother was a nurse. Selway first enrolled in English at McMaster University, but graduated from religious studies. He became a millwright and worked at Stelco and Firestone.

He was interested in preserving heritage industrial buildings and machines and about two decades ago founded his own consultancy business. It took him around the world. He worked on the $1.4 million restoration of Hamilton's 1859 Waterworks in 1998.

In 2017, he won the Hamilton Literary Awards non-fiction category for his book Nobody Will Harm You,' published by Wolsak & Wynn. It detailed the treatment of nearly 1,300 Inuit and Cree from the Eastern Arctic for tuberculosis at the Mountain Sanitorium between 1950-1965. He was inspired by his mother, who was a nurse at the sanatorium.

In the early 1990s, he was involved with Theatre Terra Nova at the Playhouse Theatre. He spoke before city council in 1992 to have it continue receiving financial aid and alter a repayment plan. His play Psychotron Motor' was part of Aquarius Theatre's play reading program in 1995.

His wife called him a very intelligent man" who was a great partner.'' He was passionate, but she said he never lost his temper, and liked to hear the opinions of others.

He was very thoughtful," said Sheri, a retired elementary school teacher. Even if we didn't agree on an issue, we would sit down and talk about it."

Selway is survived by his wife Sheri, daughters Zoe and Patricia, his mother Gerda, and three grandchildren. He is also survived by siblings Maureen, Michael, Sharon, Denise and Charles. His father Bernard died in 2020 at age 97.

Daniel Nolan can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com