Obit Index
Updated: 17 Jan 2012

Defense lawyer went to bat for the defenseless. 

Bryan Shaha couldn't stand injustice. 

Shaha, who died Oct. 24, three days before his 66th birthday, spent almost all his legal career defending those who could count on no other defense.

A memorial service will be held in Greeley in January.

For his work he won numerous awards, but "he never was the 'Hey, look at me' kind of guy," said Pat Furman, a professor at the University of Colorado law school and a friend.

"He never could pat himself on the back," Furman said.

Shaha took the law very seriously. 

Shaha was a near-fanatic baseball fan "and could remember Mickey Mantle's batting average but not our anniversary," said his wife, Carol Haller. "So I had the date inscribed inside his wedding band."

Shaha lived and worked in Greeley for decades, but was residing in Centennial at the time of his death.

Bryan D. Shaha was born in Oklahoma City on Oct. 27, 1941, and graduated from U.S. Grant High School there. He earned a degree in economics at the University of Oklahoma.

Shaha won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service with the Marines in Vietnam and then moved to Colorado to attend the University of Colorado.

He married Claudia (Corky) Wells in 1966 and they had one son, Colin Shaha, who lives in Greeley.

The two later divorced. He married Carol Haller in 1991 and they had one daughter, Meaghan Shaha, who lives in Centennial.

Shaha worked for Colorado Rural Legal Services, and for many years in the State Public Defender's office in Greeley.

In addition to his wife and children he is survived by one grandchild; his mother, Margaret Shaha of Oklahoma City, his sister, Terry Silvey of Edmond, Okla.; and brother, Ken Shaha of Fort Worth, Texas. His father, Shaha, Lewis F. preceeded him in death.

Sources:  good faith fair use of sources stated above

Compiled, transcribed and submitted by Marti Graham, Oklahoma County, OKGenWeb Coordinator, November 2007. Information posted for educational purposes for viewers and researchers. The contributor is not related to nor researching any of the above.

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