SKOWHEGAN – Warren Cunningham Shay died on Feb. 21, 2022, while snorkeling with his family in the Galapagos Islands. He would have celebrated his 73rd birthday eight days later on March 1, 2022. An avid outdoorsman, he also was a pillar of the community, family man and wonderful storyteller.The son of the late Robert and Esther Shay, Warren was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, and spent his childhood growing up in Orono, Maine where his father was a professor. The family moved to Scarsdale, New York in 1960, where his mother had grown up, graduating from Scarsdale High School in 1967. He attended the University of Maine, where he met his future wife, Jeanne Fortin, played varsity tennis, captaining the team his senior year, and in 1971 graduated Phi Beta Kappa. That summer Jeanne and Warren were married in Waterville, Maine, Jeanne’s hometown. The couple returned to Maine after three years in Boston, where Warren earned his law degree at Boston University. He soon joined the law firm that became Perkins, Townsend & Shay in Skowhegan, Maine. Warren’s qualities of honesty and forthrightness as a lawyer were greatly valued as he became involved in Skowhegan’s civic life. Warren was elected Selectman in 1982 and chaired the Select Board from 1984 to 1994. Throughout his life he served on the boards of many Skowhegan organizations including the Skowhegan Savings Bank, the Lake George Regional Park, Bloomfield Academy, the Skowhegan Rotary, the Somerset Woods trust and was a supporter of Main Street Skowhegan.In addition to his private clients, Warren served as the Town Attorney for Skowhegan and the County Attorney for Somerset County and was a member of the Board of Governors of the Maine State Bar Association. As a true country lawyer Warren handled a wide range of legal cases, including commercial disputes, personal injury and criminal cases. However his favorite cases were timber trespass disputes, an important area of law in this part of Maine.While his legal and community work were important, Warren’s, greatest joy came from his wife Jeanne and their children, Anthony and Laura. Warren enjoyed watching them play sports from grade school through college, and after as Laura’s rugby career continued with Beantown RFC, Boston’s premier woman’s rugby club. Perhaps most of all he enjoyed being outdoors in nature. He and his friend, Barry Norling, would hike most weekends in the mountains of Western Maine and New Hampshire, and when there was snow, they would cross country ski. He also was an active kayaker, running white water in Maine’s great rivers when he was younger, and in the waters around Mt. Desert near the Shay family summer house on Oak Point in Trenton, Maine.During the summer at Oak Point he and his family loved to hike the mountains of Mt. Desert, play tennis and golf, often with his brothers, Bob and Steve and their families as well as with his Cunningham cousins. There were always lively multi-family dinners with family and Oak Point neighbors and quiet times reading in the sun on the deck while enjoying the beautiful views over Western Bay. Warren and Jeanne were also active travelers, which began with a six-week honeymoon in Europe. They visited numerous national parks and went to Club Med with Anthony and Laura when they were younger. They also frequently returned to Europe recently taking multi-day hiking trips around Mt. Blanc and on country trails in Scotland with family and friends.Beyond his many accomplishments, Warren will best be remembered by his family and many friends for his great sense of humor, his way with people, his “can do” approach to life and his patience and generosity.Warren is survived by Jeanne, his beloved wife of 50 years, his son, Anthony, his wife, Kat and their daughter, Athena of Hartsdale, N.Y., his daughter, Laura of Brookline, Mass., his brothers Bob and his wife, Missy of Watertown, Mass., and Stephen and his wife, Wendy Weiss of Cambridge, Mass., as well as by his five nieces and nephews.A Memorial Service for Warren will be held at a to be announced later date. In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate it if you would make donations in Warren’s name to either: Lake George Regional Park online at: https://lakegeorgepark.org/donate/ or by check to: Lake George Regional Park, PO Box 896, Skowhegan, ME 04976The Warren C. and Jeanne F. Shay Scholarship, online at our.umaine.edu/shay or by check, payable to the University of Maine Foundation, to Two Alumni Place,Orono, ME 04469.