(June 6, 1930 – May 25, 2005)

Noreen Shaw (néeKane, thenFalasca) was aClevelandfan whochaired theCleveland in '55Worldcon bid; sheco-chaired the subsequentClevention with her first husband,Nick Falasca. She was a founding member ofThe Terrans.

The Falascas were among the founders ofWSFS, Inc., and were involved in the general turmoil. They publishedWho Is This Man? to expose a person they belived to be a fraudster posing as aBNF and running for theWSFS, Inc., Board. Later, when they were forced out byGeorge Nims Raybin,Frank Dietz andDave Kyle, theNew Yorkfans who ultimately controlledWSFS, Inc., they went into vigorous opposition to it. They publishedFandom's Burden (as well as issues #2 and #3 which were titledSon of Fandom's Burden andFandom's Burden's Last Ride) and were right in the middle of the wars overWSFS, Inc..

After Clevention, she divorced Shaw, resumed her maiden name, moved toNew York, and, on July 17, 1959, married editorLarry Shaw with whom she had two sons. She was a member of the(Second) Futurian Society of New York. The Shaws were founders of theFanoclasts. With Larry, she wroteOther People's Mail. The Shaws moved toLos Angeles in 1969 (leaving their bedroom set and a cat toTed andRobin White).

The Shaws were nominated for the1962 Best Fanzine Hugo for theirfanzineAxe. Otherfanzines includedDevil's Motorboat, andIce Age.

In the introduction to the online version ofFancyclopedia II,Dick Eney reports "Then Noreen Shaw kicked up a fuss and gotFancyclopedia II thrown off theHugoballot the year it was eligible, on the grounds that I was on theCon committee at the time. (No, I never did forgive her; would you have?)..."

That ultimately caused a change in theWSFS Constitution to create a specialHugo Subcommittee, allowing most of theconcom Hugo eligibility.

Early in herfannish career, Noreen wrotepoetry forfanzines. InGambit 30 (December 1958, p. 13), she wrote:

And now to a subject that touched me deeply. I refer toRedd Boggs' quote in #25, "Who arethe Falascas? Could Mrs. F be the lady poetEllison used to feature in his rag four or five years ago?"Mr. Boggs, suh, there are certain things no gentleman would ever discuss about a lady's past. I mean, there is such a thing as honor among fans and all that. I have tried to the best of my ability to go straight and live down my errors, but every time I think people have forgotten, along comes somehis­torian who says, in loud ringing tones, "Noreen Falasca used to be a *lady poet* for Ellison." I do, however, thank Redd very kindly for calling me a lady. That's about 100 degrees better than most of what I've been called lately and it makes me feel glad all over. Now that it's out in the open about myDinwiddie past, I ask all of you to forgive and forget and let me start over.

Fanzines andApazines:

• Axe
• Devil's Motorboat
• Fandom's Burden
• Ice Age
• Other People's Mail
• Who Is This Man?