04/18/2026
Dedication
Jamie Elliot Shuey, a Champion and an Inspiration
It is with deep sadness that I share that Jamie Elliott passed away on Wednesday, April 15 from complications arising from Chondrosarcoma. Jamie was diagnosed in early 2017 and fought the beast for over 9 years. In November 2025 she called me to let me know her disease progressed. Jamie spent several months in the hospital and last few weeks in the Intensive Care Unit. She was 75 years old, she is survived by her husband Bob, her three children Sadler, Aubrey and Asa and her three granddaughters Harper, Hazen and Hattie.
Jamie had an incredible life and she will be remembered for a lot of accomplishments. She had a successful career as a stewardess with Braniff Airlines from 1971-1987, and an even more exciting career as a “stuntwoman” for the Screen Actors Guild from 1987-2002, According to Jamie: “During the reorganization of Braniff, I lucked into meeting a stunt coordinator for the movie business and discovered we had mutual friends. I got my SAG card in 1985 and worked on major films and commercials. I worked on Robocop 1, doubling, Nancy Allen, D.O.A. doubling Meg Ryan, I fell into a Christmas Tree in Dennis Quaid’s arms in Dante’s Peak, and worked on Free W***y 1, and Hands That Rock the Cradle, just to name a few.
Jamie has always been active. She was an athlete starting in high school. Her passion was playing golf and pickleball. She played her first game of pickleball, on Vashon Island, Washington in 1990 and fell in love with it. In 2012, she became a Co-Founder of a local Pickleball club. She and the other officers began holding clinics and traveled to Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico to play in tournaments. Jamie became a USA Pickleball Ambassador around 2015. With her knowledge of teaching pickleball, she got others involved to help her build courts, and they ordered portable nets
Jamie’s Journey with Chondrosarcoma
In early 2017, Jamie slipped on ice and fell, hitting her head and back on a curb. She started having back pain that summer and just thought it was from playing golf and pickleball. Her provider sent her for an X-ray, and they found a mass on a rib. The next day she went for CT, and was told it was a tumor, and they were not sure it was cancer and wanted her back for a biopsy.
“If my Chondrosarcoma tumor was not detected early,
I would not be here today” Jamie Elliott Shuey
Jamie recalled: “I remember going home, getting on my PJ’s and burying my face crying. My husband just got home, came into our bedroom, and I remember the look on his face, as I said, I have cancer. The three worse words I had ever said. We went back for my biopsy, and the results came back as Dedifferentiated Chondrosarcoma. I started doing research, and since we had a home in the Dallas area, I found University of Texas Southwest Hospital. The intake person there knew about Chondrosarcoma and said that I needed to see a sarcoma specialist. An appointment was scheduled for January 2018. I first met with a surgical oncologist, and he explained that I would need to have four ribs from the back right side removed. I am not a crier, but this was emotional. By the time they could get a team together, the surgery was set for March 15, 2018”
I was back to recovery and not on any medication. Four months later I was back playing golf and pickleball. I entered the National Olympics in Albuquerque, NM and with my doubles partner. We played for the gold medal, but we played three games, and I was getting tired, and we lost by two points winning the silver medal instead.
In December 2018, another tumor was discovered in Jamie’s spine. In March 2019, she had another surgery that paralyzed both legs. Jamie never gave up. She went through months of physical therapy. Her determination to get back on court won over her affliction. She did not think she was stable enough to play standing up and decided to buy an adaptive sports wheelchair in January of 2021. She named it “Barney” after the founder of pickleball, Barney McCallum.
Jamie had numerous surgeries in her fight against chondrosarcoma, she has had brachy radiation on her spine where radiation plates were put in her back and a lot of ablations on her lungs and liver. She also was prescribed Tibsovo / Ivosidenib daily, a systemic medication that inhibits the IDH1 biomarker found in 60% of all chondrosarcoma patients. The medication kept the growth of chondrosarcoma in check and allowed Jamie to live a normal life. With all those procedures, nothing stopped Jamie from playing pickleball. Two years ago, Jamie had a major surgery and three days later she played in a wheelchair tournament.
Nothing (not even Chondrosarcoma) would keep Jamie down
Soon, Jamie started meeting up with other wheelchair players, and they started playing together. Transitioning from a standing player to a wheelchair player was tough. According to Jamie, it was tough for two reasons. First, learning how to get your chair in and out of the car was very challenging. Then, maneuver a wheelchair on the court while keeping your paddle in one hand, one hand on the wheel, then up for a shot and back on wheel and getting back into position, not to mention sitting lower than a standing position. Second, being a wheelchair player is mentally and socially challenging. The fear of rejection is very tough.
Jamie’s knowledge of pickleball as a standing player, and being a USA Pickleball Ambassador, helped her with her knowledge of playing on the court. Jamie’s new mission was to help wheelchair players and standing players overcome these obstacles, and to help grow a wheelchair pickleball group. The group is not only for her, but for future para-wheelchair players. Her new goal was to make the Pickleball community be all-inclusive. Jamie has found that pickleball helps people with their physical, social, and mental health, whether it is standing or in a wheelchair.
Jamie was a “Giver” and always thinking of others first.
In addition to being physically active, Jamie was a volunteer. She volunteered at Salvation Army (past 9 yrs), she ran “Dink for Pink” every October to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer. She is an advisor on her community (Heritage Ranch) pickleball club, and for Clemmer Classic Pickleball Tournaments. In 2023, Jamie and four friends formed a 501C3 non-profit, called “Para Pickleball Program” or (P3) with CNP (Chicken n Pickle) as their sponsor. Carvana heard about this and came out to video the wheelchair players and Jamie. After that event, Carvana donated enough money to purchase six sports chairs.
Jamie got involved with the Chondrosarcoma Foundation shortly after it became public in late 2020. I had no idea about Jamie’s courageous life until we honored her on February 6 for Chondrosarcoma Awareness Day. Last year, Jamie and I approached USA Pickleball and started an Early Awareness campaign called Smashing Sarcoma! https;//smashingsarcoma.org Jamie is and will be the founder and poster child for the campaign.
Video: National Tournament - Smashing Sarcoma!
Jamie’s Lasting Legacy.
Jamie had a heart of gold and gave way more than she received. Jamie was a leader and organized numerous fundraisers for the CS Foundation and Pickleball. Jamie never complained about her struggle with chondrosarcoma and never let it stop her from living and enjoying life to the fullest. There will always be a place in my heart for Jamie and I am so grateful for the time we spent together. Jamie made a difference and her legacy will continue for the sport of Pickleball, the inclusion of adaptive wheelchair players and the Smashing Sarcoma campaign.
Jamie’s way of thinking was, “You can't just sit around, you have to get up and move, no matter what's going on in your life.” She had Stage 4 chondrosarcoma and outlived the time her doctors predicted. Jamie genuinely believed, “Pickleball has saved her life” along with her Faith, Family and Friends. Jamie and Barney, her wheelchair, had a motto: “Where There's a Wheel There's a Way!”
