Georgia Shallcross, 51, Mother and Writer, Dies


Georgia Kirk Shallcross died suddenly at her home in Marshall, Va., near Middleburg, Va., August 25. She was well known around Washington, D.C., especially in Georgetown, where she had lived with her family for 22 years — and wrote a column for many years for the Georgetowner.

Shallcross leaves behind her two children, James Halsey Shallcross, 19, and Marina Kirk Shallcross, 15, with her former husband Jim Shallcross. She is also survived by her mother Barbara Copanos, better known to her grandchildren as “Ba Ba,” and by her fatherJohn Demitri Copanos and brother John Copanos. She was 51.

Her mother Barbara talked to the Georgetowner about her daughter, noting her intellectual curiosity, and said, “She was a wonderful mother. And with her love and knowledge of art history, she explained so much to her children.”

Born on Oct. 9, 1962, Shallcross grew up in Baltimore and attended the Friends School of Baltimore and Garrison Forest School. She earned a B.A. in art history at Hollins College and a master’s degree in English literature at George Washington University. She also studied briefly at the Sorbonne in Paris. After college, she was a fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and then worked at the nearby, private Wildenstein Gallery for two years.

In New York, Shallcross met her husband Jim Shallcross. They moved to Georgetown and had two children, James Halsey Shallcross and Marina Kirk Shallcross. Upon their divorce, Jim Shallcross moved to Greenwich, Conn., and the son Halsey attends the Riverview School in Sandwich, Mass. Georgia Shallcross moved to Middleburg, Va., where her daughter Marina attends Foxcroft School.

For 18 years, Shallcross was a contributing columnist to The Georgetowner newspaper. This year, she began a column, called “The Georgetown Insider,” for Washington Life magazine. She also had written for Capitol File magazine. Among her other work activities, Shallcross was a life coach and an advisor on astrology.

“I have known Georgia for more than 23 years,” said Sonya Bernhardt, publisher of The Georgetowner. “She was insightful, creative, articulate, lots of fun and a very good friend. Our mutual interest in art drew us together and never left us. I am saddened beyond words.”

“Georgia was full of energy and full of life,” said John Arundel, associate publisher of Washington Life. “What happened was a true tragedy. She was a beloved person in Georgetown and involved in everything. She wrote with punch and flair. She was a beautiful writer.”

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