Dr. Joe Shackelford of Bolivar, passed away Friday morning, October 6, 2017 at the age of 83. He was born in Booneville, MS on August 9, 1934, the son of the late Jesse E. and Dussie B. Shackelford.
Dr. Shackelford graduated from Booneville High School at the age of 16, received an A.S. degree from Northeast Mississippi Junior College, and then enlisted in the Army where he trained in the Army Language School in Monterrey, CA. He was stationed in the Army Security Agency in Rothwesten,Germany at the beginning of the Cold War. He was fluent in Russian and served as a Russian interpreter, spoke German, and later served in the Personnel Office for the base.
After his honorable discharge from the Army, he attended Mississippi State University for his preveterinary degree and graduated in 1964 from the Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine. He practiced veterinary medicine for 45 years in Hardeman County and established Shackelford Veterinary Clinic in 1970.
Dr. Shackelford was a member of the Executive Board of the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association and a lifetime member of the American Veterinary Medical Association. He also served on the Hardeman County Arts Council, the Hardeman County Chamber of Commerce, Hardeman County Board of Health, Bolivar Housing Authority, and was an APTA patron. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Bolivar where he served as a Sunday School teacher, Deacon, Trustee, and various other church committees. He also served on the Administrative Board of the Hardeman County Baptist Association.
Dr. Shackelford is survived by Judy Vaughan Shackelford, his wife of 52 years; a son, Alan (Julie) Shackelford of McDonough, GA and grandchildren Macon, Kate, and Neely; a daughter, Mandy (Bo) Hatcher of Albany, GA and grandchildren Jake and Joseph; sisters Anita Johns of Nanuet, NY and Sue Lenhardt of Collierville, TN.
He was preceded in death by his parents Jesse E. and Dussie B. Shackelford, brothers Herman Shackelford and Charles Shackelford, sisters Magdelene Caver and Janice Panni.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to the Christian Veterinary Mission (www.cvmusa.org) or the Hardeman County Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities (www.hardemancountyapta.org).