Thelma Shepard Boyd (1936-2023)

Hello Family and Friends,

Youngster Thelma with her mother
Bura Davis Shepard (abt. 1941)

Many of you may already know that my aunt Thelma Shepard Boyd passed away last month in San Diego. She had been in failing health and had resided in care facilities for the last several months. She had been cared for by her family here in San Diego, especially her daughter Kim Boyd Clark. 

Thelma was the last of her generation in our family. She was the youngest child of my grandparents William and Bura Shepard, and the younger sister of my father Eugene Shepard. Her other siblings were her older brother Elmer Shepard, and an older sister (by 20 years) Pauline Shepard Russell. 

Thelma was born in the spring of 1936 in Two Buttes, Colorado, a small rural town in the southeast corner of that state. Several members of our Shepard family lived in tiny Two Buttes from 1928 until 1940. At just 4 years old Thelma's family made a major move from the little country town of Two Buttes to Southern California. They settled in San Diego which has been home to numerous family members ever since. 

Thelma (right) with daughter Kim
and Kim's husband Jeff Clark

Other than a few years in Gallup, New Mexico, San Diego was Thelma's home for most of her life. It is where she graduated from Hoover High School, and where she and her family were long time members of the El Cajon Blvd Church of Christ. San Diego is also where she met Terry Boyd, who she married in 1958 in Yuma, Arizona. San Diego is also where many of their children and grandchildren were born.

I always experienced my aunt Thelma as a gentle soul, a loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was a kind spirit, a faithful Christian, and a lifelong devotee of the Church of Christ. She loved her family and enjoyed her children, her 6 grandchildren and her 8 great grandchildren.

Thelma will be laid to rest tomorrow, October 18, at Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego. She will take her place alongside her parents, siblings, and other loved ones. Our best wishes are extended to all Thelma's family at this time of sadness. We are grateful to God for the wonderful life she lived. 
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Steve Shepard
October 18, 2023