Ethel Ledbetter Shackelford

Ethel (Ledbetter) Shackelford, age 91, passed on Sunday, April 11, 2021. She was born May 18, 1929, in Shelby, North Carolina, to William Ector Ledbetter and Sarah Lois (Weaver) Ledbetter. She had three siblings, all preceding Ethel in death, Billy Griffin Ledbetter, Velma Louise Ellis, and stepsister, Carolyn Price Hamrick. A memorial service will celebrate Ethel's life on Saturday, May 8, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. at Cape Carteret Baptist Church, Cape Carteret, North Carolina.

Ms. Shackelford has been a resident of Cape Carteret since 1966. She is a Charter member of Cape Carteret Baptist Church where she served on the Finance Committee. While in the early stages of development, she was fortunate to be employed by the developer of both Cape Carteret and Emerald Isle. This gave her the opportunity to experience the growth and expansion of this area. In the early seventies she became licensed as a Real Estate Broker and formed her own company, Shackelford Realty, which she owned and operated until her retirement in 2001. During these years she also assisted her husband, William Arthur Shackelford, in business and subdivision developments in both Carteret and Lenoir Counties.

Ms. Shackelford was a member of the Carteret County Board of Realtors where she served on their Board of Directors for one year. In addition to that office she also served on the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for two years and assisted with the Carteret General Hospital Foundation Board. In 1996. Ms. Shackelford began serving on the Board of Directors of Star Hill Golf Club of Cape Carteret, Inc., and served in that position until December, 2019.

In 1986, when West Carteret Water Corporation approached her about the possibility of installing public water, she was delighted and helped this company by purchasing taps for Hunting Bay Subdivision and encouraging the community to do the same because she believed in the viability of this much-needed utility. West Carteret Water Corporation was then fortunate to have Ms. Shackelford accept an invitation to serve on its Board of Directors in December 1994, a position that she actively held until she retired from this Board in 2018.

Besides her parents and siblings, Ethel was preceded in death by her first husband, William T. (Bill) Bailey; her son, Brian W. Bailey; and her second husband, William A. Shackelford. She is survived by her daughter, Bebe Lynn (Bailey) Dunbar (Dave) of Floyds Knobs, Indiana; and her four stepchildren, Sarah S. Roberts of Cape Carteret, North Carolina, Billie Jo Bowers of Greensboro, North Carolina, Rebecca Harwell (Lee) of Asheville, North Carolina, and Allyson Osborne (Scott) of Anderson, South Carolina. Also surviving are two granddaughters, Cortney Bevilacqua (Rob) of Louisville, Kentucky, and Alicia Anne Bailey of Walker, Louisiana; seven step-grandchildren, Brian D. Dunbar, Elizabeth and John Harwell, Emily Arnold and Claire Askey, and Joseph and Zoe Osborne; and four great-grandchildren, Lincoln Rizzo, Reese and Sawyer Bevilacqua, and Eden Gilbert.

In lieu of flowers, Ms. Shackelford requests donations to Cape Carteret Baptist Church or to The Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Cremation was chosen following Ethel's wishes, and Newcomer Cremations, Funerals & Receptions was entrusted with her care.

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