COLUMBIA Dale Thomas Shackelford, 81, of Columbia, died on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Born in Albany, GA, and from Atlanta, GA, Dale was the daughter of the late Frank Edward Thomas and Frances Smith Thomas.
Services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 8, 2021 at Dunbar Funeral Home, Northeast Chapel. The family will receive friends 2-3 p.m. at the funeral home prior to the service.
Dale was an accomplished professional in the field of orthoptics working at the Columbia Eye Clinic, S.C. Eye Institute at the USC School of Medicine and the Providence Hospital Surgery Center in the Department of Ophthalmology throughout her 28 year career as a certified orthoptist. She helped countless patients with eye muscle disorders over the years, with a primary focus on young children with strabismus.
A graduate of Stephens College and Emory University with a B.A. in English, she continued at Emory University School of Medicine for another 18 months to receive a degree and certification in this field. In an interview early in her career, Dale laughingly said, “When I was in college there were two things that I wasn’t going to do – teach or become involved in the medical field – and I’m doing both. I come from three generations of people in medicine and I thought I would break the spell, but I haven’t.” Dale retired in 1995 to enjoy time with her family and in the subsequent years with her grandchildren. She enjoyed playing bridge, playing piano, gardening and was able to take her dream trip to England. In her later years, she loved completing jigsaw puzzles and Sudoku.
Dale took 3 years away from her career to have two daughters and was an early pioneer along with her employers, in the ability to flex her professional schedule and commitments with those of her family.
She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. Dale was preceded in death by her husband, Rick Shackelford to whom she was married for 51 years. Surviving are her daughters, Christie Shackelford Forrest of Columbia and Beth Shackelford Eastland of Greenville; sisters, Diane Thomas Austin and Dorothy Thomas Wells; brother, David Thomas; and grandchildren, Hannah Forrest Bailey, Grace Christian Forrest, Jackson Davis Eastland and Alexander Ewing Eastland.
Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.
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