He graduated from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1957. Like most in his generation, he planned to immigrate to the US to pursue graduate studies and a better life. He married his longtime sweetheart Jane Lu on 12 November 1962. The couple eventually had three daughters, to whom they were lovingly devoted.

When he was cleared to leave Taiwan in 1964, he had to leave his beloved Jane and their infant daughter, Elaine. He faced the difficulties of taking graduate engineering classes in a foreign language, but studying hard and drafting part-time for $2.50 an hour paid off. A year and a half later, Jane and Elaine were able to immigrate to the US, and they were a family again.

Gene earned his Master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Houston in 1967. Wendy was born in Houston in 1968. The family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for a few years, and then back to Houston, where Jenny was born in 1976. The family finally settled in Saratoga, California in 1977.

Gene's career spanned 40 years, starting with engineering of concrete nuclear containment structures, then changing to general structural engineering (after the Carter Administration), and finally seismic retrofitting. He retired after 20 years at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, ending with a career high of being hand selected to design the internal structures that guide the lasers for the National Ignition Facility.

Gene shared his love of nature and the great outdoors with his family by taking regular vacations to Monterey, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite National Park in California. He came close to his goal of visiting all the US national parks. He was a loyal and adventurous friend and family man who filled his life with reunions, vacations, lunches, dinner parties, hikes, and visits with friends.

Gene is survived by his wife, Jane Shaw, and daughters Elaine Shaw (husband Henry Clemmons, daughter Maya Clemmons), Wendy Shaw Dahl (husband Patrick Dahl, son Christopher Dahl), and Jenny Shaw (husband Matthew Visick, son Woods and daughter Vesper Visick), brothers Jack Shaw (wife Willene Shaw, daughters Tina, Sandy, and Gina) and James Shaw (wife Jene, sons John and Sean, daughter Tiffany). A memorial service to honor his life will be held on 20 July 2019, in Saratoga, California.