Carol J. Shackelford

A memorial visitation will be held at Heritage Funeral Home (4800 S 84th Street) on Sunday, March 2, 2025 from 11:00am to 12:30pm, with a short service to follow. Private interment at Highland Memorial Park Cemetery.

It is with great sadness to share that Carol Shackelford passed away the morning of Saturday, January 25th at the age of 83.

Beloved and devoted wife of the late Gayle Shackelford for 58 years. Loving Mother to Stacy (Anthony) Picciolo; and very proud Grandma to “the boy who made her smile no matter what he did or didn’t do” Nicolas.

Sister-in-law to Dwayne and Anita Shackelford; Aunt to Barbara (Scott) Shackelford Gray and Lorie (Todd) Luedke. Preceded in death by her parents Michael and Mildred Burzenski.

Carol loved spending time with family and friends. Most recently, she loved going to lunch and then a movie a few times a month with younger sidekicks Scott and Alex. Carol enjoyed playing Canasta (back in the day), Mahjong and puzzles. When home, she loved tending to her plants and flowers as she had quite the green thumb. She also spent a lot of hours knitting baby blankets for babies in the NICU and for others that didn’t make it home to their families; knowing she could comfort the tiniest humans made her heart full. Carol also had a deep love for dogs, whether they were hers or not. She always had a treat ready at the door “just in case.”

Through all of the pain she endured the last few years of her life due to cancer, she kept a smile on her face. We know she held on as long as she could; she wanted to see Nicolas earn his Eagle Scout ranking in Spring and graduate in June but she couldn’t hold on.

A heartfelt thank you to Lawlis Hospice for ensuring her last two days were free of pain and peaceful. We could not have asked for more compassionate care.