Former DOT leader Wayne Shackelford dies at 75

Associated Press - September 1, 2009 7:14 PM ET

ATLANTA (AP) - Wayne Shackelford, who spent decades as a Gwinnett County administrator before leading the state Department of Transportation during the 1990s, has died.

Shackelford's oldest son, Larry, said his father passed away today at Emory Eastside Hospital after a long battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was 75.

Shackelford was born on Nov. 3, 1933, in Carroll County. He earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Berry College and attended graduate school at the University of Georgia.

He became a commissioner on the state transportation board in 1991 and completed studies on commuter rail. He also helped create a unified transportation system in counties for nonmedical transportation.

A highway interchange in Gwinnett County is named in his honor.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized, but are being handled by Tommy Wages Funeral Home in Lawrenceville.

Shackelford is survived by his wife, Anna, and his children, Carolyn Gazda, of Athens; Larry Shackelford of Marietta; and Steven Shackelford of Clay Center, Neb.