Tami Shanafelt (Credit/Neighborhood CU)
The $1.2 billion Neighborhood Credit Union in Dallas, Texas announced Tuesday that it is mourning the loss of Tami Shanafelt, a longtime employee at Neighborhood CU who most recently served as vice president of administration.
Shanafelt passed away on Thursday, March 27 at her home in Dallas at age 59, according to her obituary.
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She first joined the credit union as an administrative assistant for administration and human resources in May 1993, when it was known as Dallas Postal Credit Union. In 1999, she was promoted to executive assistant, where she supported the office of the CEO for nearly a decade. In 2008, she was named to her most recent role of vice president of administration, working closely with president/CEO Chet Kimmell and the Neighborhood CU Board of Directors.
Service to credit unions runs in Shanaleft’s family. Her mother worked for the $39.7 million, Mesquite, Texas-based Mesquite Credit Union for many years, and her husband, Sammy Shanafelt, currently serves as CEO of the $122 million Prestige Community Credit Union in Dallas.
“For more than 30 years, Tami played a key role in supporting me, the executive leadership, internal operations and leading board governance at Neighborhood Credit Union. Her professionalism, reliability and dedication left a lasting mark on the credit union and all who work here,” Kimmell said. “I will miss her. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Tami’s family, friends and all who had the privilege to know her.”
Outside of her professional life, Neighborhood CU said Shanafelt enjoyed spending time at the family ranch and the lake, where boating and relaxing together were favorite pastimes, and as a fan of travel and good food, she was often the planner behind memorable family trips, including cherished visits to Disney World.
According to her obituary, aside from her husband Sammy, she leaves behind daughters Taryn Bazhaw, and Sierra Caya and her husband, Connor Caya; sons Samuel Shanafelt and his wife Kamberlyn Shanafelt, and Brandon Bazhaw and his partner Erica Mata; her mother Toni Martin; her sister Traci Beck and her husband Danny Beck; grandchildren Ledger, Natasha and Eva; mother-in-law Virginia Shanafelt and father-in-law Sam Shanafelt.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday, April 5 at 1 p.m. in Morrison Funeral Home Chapel in Graham, Texas. Service details can be found on the funeral home’s website.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
