By Rita Shirley LeBleu
DeQuincy restaurant owner and commercial developer Shane Nelson is on a mission to honor the memory of his sister in a way that will revive downtown DeQuincy and could help small business owners thrive. Shawna Leigh, 53, lost her life in a plane crash in January.
“Earlier that day, she had sent me her itinerary,” Shane said, adding that Shawna was affectionately known as the family manager. “She worked at Lakewood (Church), but on the side…she did these parties.”
Shane talked about how his sister’s death threw him – the whole family – into a tailspin and her remarkable talent for creating dream-come-true, Texas-Stadium-size to intimate New York City soirees for corporations and some clientele that most folks would consider the rich, if not necessarily the famous. She was on her way to Paris to scout locations and make vendor contacts when the private jet went down in Bangor, Maine due to icy conditions. All commercial flights were grounded.
“Her favorite place to visit was New York City,” Shane said. “But she loved DeQuincy, not because it was perfect but because it was home.”
The siblings often talked about the character of DeQuincy’s historic, better-built-to-last structures.
“She said downtown DeQuincy could look like a Hallmark card,” Shane said. “We would visualize certain types of retail. Our favorite dream was of a candy store similar to the one on the Strand in Galveston.”
Shane is renovating a building at the northeast corner of Fourth and Pine and the old gas station in front of the post office will be a pizza place. The brand and the location is named for his daughter, Indie Rose.
He is paying as he goes, while running the restaurant that pays the bills – and his many employees. Materials true to the building’s construction period are costly. Work is slow.
On these projects, he sought his sister’s input from the get-go. Together they visualized turning the property at Fourth and Pine, often referred to as the old Tommy Rutledge building, into an event center, the ideal space for proms and wedding receptions.
The Shawna Leigh Foundation will ensure his sister’s continued influence. Grants and private donations will be used to restore downtown buildings, including the old Penton building, Hammons Hotel and Perkins Pharmacy, plus help provide affordable leases for others who want to realize their dreams in an economy and a sparsely populated rural community that has made that more challenging than ever.
According to The Shawna Leigh Foundation mission statement, “every project is more than construction. It is an act of hope. Every improvement says this town, its history and its people matter.”
The Shawna Leigh Foundation won’t put money in Shane’s pockets. It won’t ease the grief. Donations to the nonprofit will restore not only buildings, but also pride in DeQuincy, preserve its heritage, encourage local business, inspire others to turn vision into reality, and keep the indomitable spirit of Shawna Leigh Collins alive.
