Shackelford Funeral Directors

10/12/2025

10/10/2025

In the almost forgotten ground of Lacefield Cemetery rest the mortal remains of Harve Burgess Patterson, a young man who entered the United States Army on October 10, 1942 in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. When he registered for the draft two years earlier he was single and working for himself as a farmer. His five foot, 10 inch frame carried a slender 137 pounds, topped with blonde hair and blue eyes. Harve survived slightly over a year before being killed in action in Italy on November 30, 1943. His body was returned to his family who marked his grave with something other than the standard issue military monument before joining him there in 1965 - his mother in May of that year, his father in December.

10/09/2025

. . . I washed the flour from my hands (and face . . .), dug the cocoa powder out from under my fingernails, and changed from my comfortable, cookie-baking clothes into my time-to-offer-condolences clothes. Oh, and I put my shoes on (because cookie baking is an activity best done in bare feet—condolence offering maybe not so much).

Every December my daughter and I (and our special guest baker Tommy) gather for three very long days (plus usually one for gathering supplies) and we bake. And we bake and we bake and we bake.

10/08/2025

It may look like an expensive tapestry, woven of the brightest colored yarns, but it is, in fact, the monument of Rudolf Nureyev, famous ballet dancer. The memorial, created by the Italian designer Ezio Frigerio, was a testimony to his patience and love for his friend Nureyev. The tiny mosaic pieces used to create the tapestry are so carefully arranged that the folds and textures are extremely realistic in their appearance.

10/07/2025

We hope you’ll join us Saturday, October 18th as we send Jeff and Kandy Shackelford off on their next great adventure - retirement! The reception begins at 5:00 PM and ends at 7:00 PM; feel free to drop by anytime between those hours. Good thoughts and congratulations are welcome, but no gifts please.

10/06/2025

October Monday morning observation . . .

10/04/2025

If there was a job to be done, and Bobby Hysmith was going to do it, you always knew it would be done well. He started that practice helping deliver milk before school. That part time job eventually became a full time position with the Wonder Bread Company which led to frequent moves, consistent promotions, and awards recognizing his dedication and success. After 43 years he retired from his first career then, three years later, embarked on his second as a Funeral Assistant for Shackelford’s Casey Chapel in Henderson. For the next 23 years, Bobby did whatever was asked of him, often saying he got the jobs no one else wanted. Despite his focus on work, Bobby found time for community service including as a county commissioner and member of the Lions Club where he filled many roles. But everything took a back seat to his love of God and his family. And his hats. Seems he could always be found wearing a cap or a hat, a tradition his grandsons continued by taking one from the hat stand next to Bobby’s casket and wearing it in his honor. Bobby Hysmith was one of those men whose words of wisdom will always ring true, whose love of life will always be remembered, and whose impact will not soon be forgotten. With his family’s permission we wanted to share their tribute to this wonderful man with you.

10/02/2025

The people we’ve loved and lost leave behind more than their stuff. They leave pieces of themselves in every life they’ve touched and sometimes, in the lives of those they never knew.

We’ve all heard the old saying “You can’t take it with you”, right? And we all know why old sayings get to be old sayings, right? (In case you don’t, it’s because there’s a grain of truth hidden in them . . .)

10/01/2025

Oscar Arron Reynolds was born in Savannah, Tennessee on August 24, 1893. Like most young men his age, he registered for the draft during World War I, noting that he was a farmer, a young man of 23 with brown hair and blue eyes. But what his future might have held ended with his death on October 13, 1918. His parents buried him at Neill Cemetery where his paternal grandparents already were, and where his parents would someday be, engraving his monument with the words “Shelterd and safe from sorrow.”