Mr. Shacklett was born in Jackson, Mississippi and grew up in Tulsa. He attended public schools and thereafter attended and graduated from the University of Tulsa, where he met my wife, Marion.  They were married in 1967 and have two adult sons, Jonathan and James.  Their oldest, Jonathan, has a rare genetic disorder known as Prader-Willi Syndrome.  Mr. Shacklett also has two grandchildren.

Prior to entering law practice in 1979, Mr. Shacklett served for two years with Campus Crusade for Christ seeking to minister to college students at Vanderbilt University and other state colleges in Tennessee.  Thereafter, for four years he was a school teacher in Fort Lauderdale, Florida teaching and coaching children with various learning disabilities.

Mr. Shacklett, formerly a Director and Shareholder of Barber & Bartz, is now Of Counsel to the firm and continues to provide consultation and advice, on a part time basis, to the firm and its clients in the areas of estate planning, special needs planning, elder law and trust and estate administration. Mr. Shacklett finds great satisfaction helping families plan for and deal with life transitions, including helping elderly parents or their concerned adult children cope with issues related to health care planning, planning for the life care of their disabled family members, guardianship matters and passing their accumulated wealth in a wise manner for the benefit of their loved ones. 

Please visit Mr. Shacklett's blog, The Special Needs Trust Advisor, which provides useful information and guidance for parents and guardians of special needs children, as well as those acting as trustees of special needs trusts.

Mr. Shacklett's personal interests include reading, skeet and pistol shooting, and bird hunting.  His wife and he enjoy leading marriage enrichment courses associated with their church and are involved with the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative, a state authorized program to promote the welfare of marriage and families in Oklahoma.  They also enjoy providing biblically based pre-marriage coaching to engaged and courting couples and enjoy mentoring newly married couples.