Joanne Lynn Shackelford

Joanne Lynn (Brunkhorst) Shackelford sailed from our sight in this world and into the next peacefully and at home in Albemarle County, Virginia on April 9, 2026. She was surrounded by family who loved her dearly.

Joanne was born in McCook, Nebraska on August 30, 1947 to Andrew (Andy) Brunkhorst and Anna (Damrow) Brunkhorst. Her early years were lived on a farm near Palisade, Nebraska with her parents and older brother, Ken. In her primary school years the family moved to a farm in Dundy County, south of Wauneta, Nebraska. She attended Wauneta High School and then the University of Nebraska, where she graduated from the Business School in 1969. In June, 1970 she married Lon Shackelford, and the couple moved for a year to Quincy, Massachusetts, where they spent what time they could during Lon’s internship year exploring the Northeast and its coastal areas, and where Joanne worked for an enterprise engaged in cleaning and restoring coastal waters. After returning to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1971, Joanne worked as an auditor for the State of Nebraska, until the couple moved to New Jersey for several years in 1974. Following this was a move to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1976, where they have resided since. Joanne worked for a number of these years as an accountant for the University of Virginia, and then for the University of Virginia Alumni Association until her retirement in 2014. At these positions Joanne was especially valued for her kindness, ability to listen and understand the feelings of her colleagues, and then use this understanding to implement changes. Staff with whom she worked knew she was the “go to” person when there was a problem that needed solved.

From an early age, Joanne loved and excelled at arts and crafts activities, which she enjoyed fostering in her daughter, Kristen, born in 1986. She enjoyed serving as a Girl Scout troop leader for a number of years, as well as teaching Sunday School at St. Paul’s, Ivy Episcopal Church. With a healthy portion of Nebraska tenacity and determination, Joanne met a good bit of adversity in her life with courage and fortitude. Faced with a need for several major surgeries and medical problems which increasingly impacted her life, Joanne calmly showed the rest of us what true courage, determination, and grit looks like.

Joanne was preceded in death by her parents, Andy and Anna Brunkhorst. She is survived by her husband, Lon Shackelford, daughter and son-in-law, Kristen and Ryan Pilz, brother and sister-in-law, Ken and Sheila Brunkhorst, nephew and niece-in-law, Paul and Michelle Brunkhorst, nephew, Dan Brunkhorst, two grandnieces, and four grandnephews.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 24th at 11:00 a.m. at Teague Funeral Service in Charlottesville, Virginia. Interment at Riverside Cemetery in Wauneta, Nebraska will follow at a later date. In memory of Joanne Shackelford, donations may be made to the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad Foundation (www.westernrescue.org) or Hospice of the Piedmont (www.hopva.org).