Courtney Erin Shackelford

Courtney Erin Shackelford, Attorney, beloved daughter of William and Marcia Shackelford, died at home on Friday, November 20, 2020, at the age of 39. Courtney was born on June 2, 1981 in San Diego, CA and moved with her parents to their hometown of Baltimore, MD in October 1983.

Courtney attended Ruxton Country School, Stoneleigh School, Dumbarton Middle School and Towson High School. She graduated from St. Paul’s School for Girls with the class of 1999. In 2003, Courtney earned her BA in English from Dickinson College in Carlisle PA, and in 2010 she earned her JD from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

After graduation from Dickinson College, Courtney worked as an Editorial Assistant and Reporter for the Towson Times Newspaper and had her own weekly Education column that reported news events from all the schools in Baltimore County. While at the Towson Times, Courtney was invited to teach a class in journalism at her alma mater, St. Paul’s School for Girls, which she did simultaneously. Courtney then went on to work as a paralegal at the Murthy Law Firm before deciding to attend law school.

Courtney began playing the violin at the age of nine and went on to play in the Towson High School Orchestra, the Dickinson College Community Orchestra and the Greenspring Valley Orchestra in Brooklandville, MD. She received many awards for her visual artwork throughout her school years and was awarded an art scholarship to Dickinson College.

After practicing law in Baltimore for six years, Courtney relocated to Austin, TX with her parents in 2016. After passing the Texas Bar, she was employed as a litigator at Scott and Associates law firm.

Courtney loved music, painting, baking, astrology, astronomy, yoga, golfing, traveling, photography and watching the Baltimore Ravens and the University of Texas Longhorns football games. She became a proud Austinite and loved “everything Texas.” Courtney’s friends and family remember her as an open and kind person, always generous and always – regardless of her own troubles – a cherished friend and trustworthy confidant.

In addition to her parents, Courtney is survived by many aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, co-workers, and loving friends from around the world.

There will be a Funeral Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5200 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21210, on Friday, December 18 at 10:00 a.m.

The family would like to thank the physicians and staff at Texas Oncology, Ascension Seton Medical Center, Dell Seton Hospital Medical Center in Austin, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for the care they gave to Courtney, with special thanks to Dr. Richard Helmer, Dr. Lynne Knowles and Dr. Marian Yvette Williams- Brown.

Memorial contributions may be made to The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition in Dallas, TX.