Trudy Ophelia Shackelford

Trudy Ophelia Myrick Shackelford, 92, passed away on Monday, February 7, 2022 in Mobile, Alabama. She was born in Alabama to Shirley William Myrick and Leona Artie Jemison on September 7, 1929. Trudy married James Lloyd Shackelford, and together they started Jim’s Ambulance Company; Jim’s Tours; Jim’s Paint, Body, and Wrecker Service; Whitehouse Restaurant; and her special Tiny Diny. Trudy was the first woman behind an ambulance in Mobile – landing her on the front page of the newspaper, which made it all the way to California. Her restaurant, Tiny Diny, was a Mobile staple and landmark for decades, four of which she owned and ran the restaurant. She was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of South Alabama and Mobile Business Woman of the Year. Trudy was an amazing force, and will be greatly missed.

Trudy was preceded in death by her husband of 41 years, James Lloyd Shackelford; her parents; three sisters, Semmie Brown, Eula Lee Horn, and Shirley Ann Sprehe; and one brother, Mastin Oliver Myrick.

She is survived by her three daughters, Gilda Raue Walker (Ronald), Gail Nannette Silvester (Allan), and Tonya Joyce Shackelford; one adopted son, Luverne Bullard; six grandsons, Ronald Spence Walker, Daniel Shane Walker, Gregory Allan Silvester, Brandon Scott Williams, Nico Scarpato and Anthony Scarpato; five great-grandchildren, William Spence Walker, Blakely Elizabeth Walker, Hattie Marie Silvester, Tate Barnes Silvester, and Brett Allan Silvester; one sister, Earline Fornea; and a host of nieces, nephews and other cherished family and friends.

Visitation for Trudy will be held on Friday, February 11, 2022, from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. at Pine Crest Funeral Home on Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, with a chapel service immediately following. Interment will be in Pine Crest Cemetery West on Snow Road.

The family would like to give a special thanks to Maria Scarpato and Latika Smith for all of their loving care over the years, as well as SAAD’s Hospice Retreat.