PADUCAH, KY - The outpouring of support for fallen McCracken County Deputy Chad Shaw now has an online presence.

The website deputyshaw.org has a video of the funeral procession, a brief biography/obituary of Shaw, a message from Sheriff Jon Hayden, and a couple of opportunities to financially support Shaw's wife, Margaret, and two daughters.

The site was built by a friend who would prefer to remain anonymous, because, as he said, "Chad wasn't one to take credit for anything, and I'm certainly not going to."

The man worked with Sheriff Jon Hayden so the site would be a unified portal to remember Shaw and raise support for his family. It has a link to a secure donation page, and also links to another page, where t-shirts and mugs honoring Shaw's memory can be bought, with proceeds also going to the family.

Sheriff Hayden said, "The two websites not only honor Chad Shaw, but they also create a way for folks to donate funds that will go directly to the Shaw family. I'm extremely appreciative to an individual who is a very close friend of Chad Shaw's that donated a lot of time and effort and money to make this happen, and we just can't thank him enough."

Hayden said if Chad was here, he would tell everyone not to grieve for him, but to take care of his family.

"We're gonna do everything we can to make sure that his children and his wife aren't suffering financially, that they're able to do what they need to do. We want to make sure that his daughters are able to continue their education at CCA," Hayden said.

Hayden said he's seen a lot of people at the department visiting the site since it went online, and that they are still devastated following Shaw's collapse and death on Aug. 6 at at CCA event. He said he's spoken to deputies and staff about the emotional toll it takes to lose someone in your department. Colleagues have shared that when they heard about a death in another department, they wondered how they would feel and react if it ever happened to them. Now they know.

Hayden said, "Speaking for myself, I can certainly tell you that it's a lot worse than I ever imagined, and I think that everyone at the department feels the same way."

The Sheriff said they can't bring Shaw back, but they can do everything they can to help meet his family's needs.

The site designer echoed those sentiments, and that was his motivation for the website. He had moved to the area in 2005 for work, and was also an auxiliary police officer. Unfortunately, he didn't really know anyone in the area, and was feeling lonely. He was considering moving back home, when he stopped at an abandoned car where Shaw and Auxiliary Officer Bobby Cook were already on the scene. They struck up a conversation, and Shaw quickly invited the man to his home for dinner. They became fast friends, and talked frequently, even after the man moved away for his full-time job. Following the funeral, the man had a day or two off work, and decided to honor his friend with the website.

Hayden said he's been approached by several organizations who may want to honor Shaw in some way at Barbeque on the River in September. Shaw used vacation time every year to help the Fraternal Order of Police at their booth. CCA has also contacted Hayden about holding a fall event for the family.

Members of the department have also expressed interest in finishing one of Shaw's projects - a homemade roller coaster in his back yard - but Hayden said he wants to check with Margaret first, because she hadn't been quite as enthusiastic about it as her husband. But he knows his department will be helping in Chad's "Pumpkin Patch" on his property, which was planted every year to allow underprivileged kids to pick out fall decorations.

On the Net:

Deputy Shaw Website