Shepard Family News January 25

January 25, 2008

Dear Family members,

I hope you are all enjoying winter, however harsh or mild it may be where you are. It has been snowing all week long at our house. We look out the window to about 3 feet of snow, but the electricity stays on, and the wood supply remains, so we are in good shape.

In the last message I made a small mistake in the identification of Maida Shepard's children in the picture that I sent. I said that the last two people on the right were Darrell and Russell, but I had them reversed. It is Russell and then Darrell. Small point, I know (unless you are Darrell or Russell!).

Fascinating Family Fact: Did you know? Two men in our Shepard family served in WWII, and one man served in the Civil War. Brothers Eugene and Elmer Shepard served in WWII, and our oldest known Shepard ancestor, William Shepard (1835-1862), served in the Civil War (more about him next time). I do not know of any other men or women in our Shepard family who may have served in one of America's wars. Do you? What about family members who have served in the Peace Corps?

Family Faces. I am sending you two pictures. One is from 1945, a picture taken in San Diego during WWII. The men in uniform are Eugene and Elmer Shepard. The children in front are Thelma Shepard (9 yrs old), Beverly Russell (6 yrs old) and Rex Russell (9 yrs old).

The other picture was taken just this past Xmas and is the family of Darrell and Mary Shepard of Bothell, Washington. From left to right they are Christopher, Patrick, Mary and Darrell (go Chargers!) and in front is Rachel. Thanks to Patrick Shepard for sending me this picture.

Do others of you have a family picture you would like to share? Email it to me; or USMail it to me at: PO Box 4540, Dorrington, CA 95223.

I have added a couple of new family members to our email list in recent weeks: Darren and Victoria Boyd (Santee, Ca), Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz (San Diego), and Kelly and James Sauvage (Weatherford, Texas). Our online circle widens! Who else can we add?

Congratulations to Mary and Darrell Shepard who celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary just a few weeks ago, on Dec 31, 2007! Also Happy Birthday to Mary Shepard on Jan 10 and to Dane Shepard in Oklahoma City whose birthday was this past Monday! Do you know of other January birthdays we can celebrate?

Remember the Family Reunion Saturday July 19, 2008 in Anacortes, Washington.
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family News January 18

January 18, 2008

Dear Shepard Family,

Saturday, July 19, 2008 is the date for the Shepard Family Reunion this summer in Anacortes, Washington. Barbara and Maida Shepard and other family members are making plans and arranging for a very special event. You are invited!

Thanks for your responses to my question about the unknown youngster in one of the pictures I sent. Maida and Joan and Kim all responded and said it looked like Shannon Wilk, granddaughter of Pauline Shepard Russell. I think they are right. As a follow-up, I googled Shannon Wilk to find out where she might be, and found an interesting family fact.

Family Fact: Most of you probably don't know that Phil Wilk, Shannon's father, died last September. Phil was married to Beverly Russell, daughter of Bill and Pauline (Shepard) Russell and lived in San Diego for many years. Below is a quote from a website which tells of Phil's passing, and mentions that Shannon Wilk (and her daughter!) now live in Atchison, Kansas. (Her exact address is unknown to me. Does anyone know it?)

If you would like to visit the website regarding Phil's death, click here. Here is a quote from it:

Phillip G. Wilk, 72, of Atchison, [Kansas] passed away Monday, Sept. 17, 2007, at the Atchison Hospital.
Phillip was born Feb. 8, 1935, in Leavenworth, the son of Paul and Vera (Mobley) Wilk. He graduated from Leavenworth High School. Phillip entered the Navy in 1953 and made San Diego home for 34 years. After four years in the Navy, he went to work for San Diego Gas and Electric, where he was in charge of records management, and later retired. Phillip loved to cook, read, tell stories and attend flea markets.
Upon retirement, he moved back to Leavenworth for one year and then to Michigan. He later moved to Massachusetts, until settling in Atchison in 2005. Phillip married Beverly Jean Russell in 1965 and together they had two children, Karl Wilk and Shannon Wilk.
Survivors include his daughter, Shannon Wilk and a granddaughter of Atchison; Frank Bockach of Atchison; Gary and MaryAn Wilk of McLouth; Sandy Smith of Fayetteville, Ga.; Mary and Wayne Jennings of Effingham, Kan.; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife in 1974 and his son in 1997.

Memorial services will be at noon Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007, at the Community of Christ Church, Ninth and Santa Fe streets in Atchison. The body has been cremated. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society and may be sent in care of the Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home.

Family Faces. With this post I am including two more pictures. The first is an old one from June, 1975, a picture of Phil Wilk holding his daughter Shannon at the Russell home in San Diego. Beverly, his wife and Shannon's mother, died tragically at 35 of a brain aneurism just 6 months before this picture was taken.


The second picture evokes happier thoughts; it is Maida Shepard and her 5 children: Steve (me), Barbara, Gary, Darrell and Russell. It was taken last summer in Anacortes, Washington.

Do you have some family news you would like to share with others in your family: a birth or a milestone birthday, a move to a new address, a graduation, something special about your children, a marriage or some other event worth sharing? I would be glad to pass it on for the rest of the family to read. And, of course, if you have a new (or old) family picture you'd like to share, email it to me.
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update - January 11

January 11, 2008

Hello Shepard Family members,

Are you making your plans for the Shepard Family Reunion, July 19, 2008 in Anacortes, Washington? It is now just about 6 months away. Maida Shepard and Barbara in Anacortes would like to have an idea of who will be coming. If you think you might make it, please send me an email and I will let them know.

Fascinating Family Fact: Did you know? In our Shepard family there are TWO Steven Shepards, TWO Nathan Shepards, and THREE Cindy Shepards!

The Steven Shepards are Steven Paul Shepard of Anacortes, WA and me, Steven Dale Shepard of Dorrington, CA.

The Nathan Shepards are Nathan William Shepard of San Francisco and Nathan Shepard of Oklahoma City, son of Dane and Cindy Shepard. (By the way, we also have a THIRD "Nate" in our family, Nathaniel Sauvage of Weatherford, Texas, grandson of Gary Shepard.)

The Cindy Shepards are Cindy Ann Shepard ("Gary's Cindy" of Oak Harbor, WA), Cynthia Harris Shepard ("Steve's Cindy" of Dorrington, CA) and Jacinta (Saunders) Shepard ("Dane's Cindy" of Oklahoma City).

Family Faces. I am again sending two pictures: one from 1973 or 74 and one from very recently. The older picture is William and Bura Shepard with Kelly, Kerri and Jason Shepard, their great grandchildren. Can anyone tell me who the youngster on the lower right is?

The second picture is Gary Shepard with his 3 children (Kerri Aquiningoc and Kelly Sauvage of Weatherford, Texas, and Jason Shepard of Ft Worth) and Gary's four grandchildren, Mandy and Lyndsay Aquiningoc, and Kyle and Nate Sauvage.

(Please let me know of any corrections that need to be made to identifications I am making, or spelling of names or anything else! Thanks so much.)
--
Steve
shepard@sierrawebworks.com

[P.S.... If you know of other family members who would like to receive these emails, please ask them to send me an email at shepard@sierrawebworks.com -- or give me their email addresses -- and I will include them on the email list. If you have their physical address, please send that to me as well and I will make sure they receive an invitation to the reunion by US Mail. Also, please let me know if you would rather I use a different email address for you, or if you would prefer NOT to receive these emails.]

Happy New Year, Shepard Family and Friends!

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,

This message comes with a wish that 2008 will be a wonderful year for each of us, a year filled with joy and purpose and fulfillment; and a year to realize all over again the value of family -- not just those close at hand, but also those not so close, with whom we share a common bond.

Earlier this week Barbara sent out, by regular mail, formal invitations to the family reunion July 19, 2008, in Anacortes, Washington. (Thanks to Barb!) She sent them out to all those she had a physical address for. If you did not get one, send me an email with your home address and I will make sure one gets sent to you. We want to keep every friend and family member informed, whether or not you will actually be there in person.

Fascinating Family Fact: Did you know? The oldest living member of our Shepard family is Elmer Shepard of Henderson, Texas who will be 90 in May, 2008. And the youngest member of our family is Thelma Shepard Boyd's great grandson, Damian Ortiz, born Nov 29, 2006 in San Diego to Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz. (see picture).

Family Faces: I am sending two pictures with this email. One is an oldie, from November, 1953, of William and Bura Shepard, their 4 children, and their 6 grandchildren (plus two others on the way! Beryl, on the left, will give birth to a daughter Joan in a few months; and Maida, in the middle, though it is hard to tell, will give birth to Darrell in a few months.). The children on the front row are Dane, me, Gary and Linda. The others in the picture are Elmer, Thelma, Eugene (above Maida), Beverly, Pauline, Bill, and Rex Russell. Dane tells me this picture was taken in Alpine, California (east of San Diego) where Elmer and his family were living at the time.

The other picture is a very recent picture of Thelma and Terry Boyd, with two of their 3 grandchildren (Jeremy and Amanda Ortiz) and their 3 great grandchildren (including their youngest, Damian on the left with his mother Desiree).

Do you have an old or new family picture you'd like to share with others in your extended family? Just email it to me.
--
Steve