"A World Lives in You," October 26, 2015

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye,

but at the same time you carry them with you

in your heart, your mind, your stomach,

because you do not just live in the world

but a world lives in you.

~Frederich Buechner

Happy 23th Birthday today, October 26, to Mandi Aquiningoc. Mandi is the younger daughter of Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc of Weatherford, Texas. Mandi lives with her older sister Lyndsey in Granbury, Texas, a short ways from Weatherford.

Mandi is one of the grandchildren of my brother Gary Shepard and Jackie Perry. She is also one of the Great Great Grandchildren of both William and Bura Davis Shepard and Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. Mandi's daughter Kambree is one of the youngest members of our extended family at just 2 years old.

This first picture was taken Friday and shows Mandi celebrating her birthday at her UPS work place. Best wishes to Mandi for a great birthday!

Mandi: Hi, uncle Steve! It's so good to hear from you. I'm doing great! I am still working at UPS and I love it. I am waiting for it to start getting super busy for the holidays I heard it gets crazy busy. Its a great company to work for with such great people and customers. Me and Lyndsey finally got our house together. We can see Granbury Lake from our front door. Kambree going to school and in daycare is probably one of the best things that's happening in our lives these days. I've seen such a huge change in Kambree. She sings her abc's, she can count to 10, and she's been walking around the house with her hand over her heart trying to say the pledge of allegiance. And she loves this country song that I play for her; she can sing every word. Lol! She's such a mini me :) I hope to see y'all real soon!

Mandi's Great Grandmother is Maida Gower Shepard. The family of Maida and the late Eugene Shepard are rooted in San Diego, but in recent years many of them have spread out to other parts of the country. Mandi and her part of the family, including her mother and the other children of my brother Gary, have settled in the area around Weatherford, Texas. They number about a dozen. My mom and a number of others are settled now in Western Washington in the Anacortes and Seattle areas. They number almost 2 dozen. And of course several of us still live in San Diego, but not nearly as many as lived here not too many years ago.

This second picture was taken 21 years ago, in front of Grandma Gower's house on Lynne Street in San Diego. This was the home in East San Diego that was the focal point for many memorable family happenings for the entire second half of the 20th century.

This picture shows Mandi at the bottom at just 2 years old, with her mom Kerri Aquiningoc (in red) and Cindy Shepard. Interestingly Mandi in this picture was just about the same age as her daughter Kambree is now, and her mom Kerri in this picture is very close to the age Mandi is now.

Also in this picture are Nola Gower on the left, with Sean Gower behind her, then Aurora Agnibene Gower with her grandson Thrax and her husband Hank Gower. In the very middle are my parents Gene and Maida Gower Shepard, next to Jason Shepard, Gary Shepard and Kelly Shepard. On the right am I, holding 4 year old Lyndsey Aquiningoc.

When this picture was taken my parents Maida and Gene had already moved to Washington and were back in Southern California for a visit. Within a few years, Grandma Gower, Aurora, Hank and my Dad would pass away, Gary and Cindy would move to Washington, and Kerri, Kelly and Jason would move to Texas.

With all these family movements, and many more, it just goes to show the wisdom of Frederich Buechner's quote at the top of this post. When it comes to family, "You do not just live in the world, but a world lives in you."
- - -
Steve Shepard

More Cars and More Stories, July 17, 2014

When we try to pick out anything by itself,

we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.

~John Muir

Remembering Manuel Aquiningoc (1961-1992). This Saturday, July 19, would have been the 43rd birthday of Manuel Aquiningoc, late husband of my niece Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc of Weatherford, Texas. His untimely and tragic death in San Diego occurred 22 summers ago in 1992.  Manuel is still warmly remembered today by those who knew him, especially his wife Kerri and his daughters Lyndsey and Mandi.

The first picture shows Manuel (left) with his wife Kerri (in front) and Kerri's dad Gary Shepard (right) and Gary's wife Cindy (in the middle) holding Lyndsey. This picture was taken in 1991 in front of the Harris home on Burgundy Street in San Diego. 

More Cars and the Stories They Tell. Last summer I spent a few weeks in a different kind of family story telling which I titled "Cars and the Stories They Tell." I considered various automobiles that were significant in the life of family members in the first half of the 20th century. I would like to pick up that same theme and look at the second half of the 20th century.

A 1952 Ford Country Sedan was our family's station wagon for several years when we lived in the Point Loma community of San Diego in the mid-1950s. At that particular time the Country Sedan was a common vehicle for modest working class families like ours. It was something of a step down from the big flashy Buicks of my uncle Hank Gower, or even the stylish Mercury Medalist of my Shepard Grandparents. But in its own way our Ford was something of a classic. Here's a website that tells you more about this special car.

The second picture gives you a pretty good view of our 1952 Ford Country Sedan in the driveway of our home on Rosecrans Street in Point Loma. Taken in June of 1958 this picture also shows my siblings Linda and Darrell Shepard, who at the time were the two youngest children of Maida and Eugene Shepard. Barbara would be born the following year, and Russell three years after that.

Our station wagon was a light brown vehicle with white sidewall tires, a V8 engine, three rows of seats, but not a single seat belt. It was the only car we had and it took us everywhere, including to Church each Sunday morning on El Cajon Blvd. Sadly this Ford was the instrument of death for the family puppy when mom accidentally ran over it as she backed out of the garage one hurried morning. Despite that, it was a memorable vehicle for us for several years and served us well. As I recall, it was even the primary vehicle used in moving our family to our first purchased home on Armstrong Street in 1959. I remember going on several family vacations in it, usually with dad's homemade, one wheel, wooden trailer being pulled behind, full of camping gear and other traveling needs for a family of 6.

Especially memorable was one particular vacation in the late 1950s when Dad, Grandad, my older brother Gary and I used it to go camping in Sequoia National Park, a few hundred miles north of San Diego in Central California. We encountered a thieving bear on that trip which formed the grist for tales that Dad and Grandad told and retold (and probably embellished!) for many years. The hungry bear came into our camp in the middle of the night, rummaging through our food bin and awakening Dad. He frantically turned on the Ford's lights and honked its horn to scare the furry thief away. Through it all Grandad slept peacefully and, much to his chagrin, had to be told of the night's events the following morning.

On the way out of the mountains, as our station wagon carried us down Highway 198 into the San Joaquin Valley we descended a long steep grade and the Ford's brakes began to fail. I don't ever remember Dad and Grandad being as worried as they were that day, with the smell of burning brakes in the air. Carefully using the emergency brake as well as the foot brake, Dad negotiated the grade and we made it to the flatlands safely, breathing a sigh of relief. At least Dad and Grandad did. Gary and I weren't worried a bit and thought it was a great adventure. The four of us returned to San Diego, none the worse for wear, grateful for Dad's prowess, and appreciative of that '52 Ford that carried us safely home.
- - -
Steve Shepard

James Brooks Davis and Descendants, June 1, 2014

I note the obvious differences

between each sort and type,

but we are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

~Maya Angelou

The Birthday of James Brooks Davis. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the birth of my Great Grandfather James Brooks Davis, who was born outside Spencer, Indiana on June 2, 1870 -- 144 years ago.

James' grandparents, Alex and Jane Davis, had migrated from Ohio to Owen County, Indiana about 1850 and were the first of our Davis ancestors to settle there. James' father Charles, a young child when his family left Ohio, met a young Indiana native as a teenager by the name of Malinda Wright, and eventually married her in Owen County in 1869. The following spring, baby James Brooks arrived and became the first Davis child to be born a Hoosier.

James was raised near Spencer, Indiana and at 25 years old married another native Indianan, Callie Spear, on New Year's Day 1896. In the first 12 years of their life together they had 7 children, their oldest being my grandmother Bura Davis. Their other children were Lawrence, Myra, Winona, Jesse, Esther and Marjorie. The first picture from 1908 shows James surrounded by 4 of their daughters, including their youngest, Marjorie, in his lap.

In March, 1913, James and Callie uprooted their family of 9 -- all of whom had lived their entire lives in Owen County, Indiana -- and moved them all to "the land of opportunity", the panhandle of Oklahoma. At the time their children ranged in age from 4 to 16 years old. They settled in Beaver County and joined the ranks of hard working farming families on the Oklahoma frontier.

A few of the descendants of James and Callie still live in Beaver County today. Over the last century since the family settled in Oklahoma, however, most of them have moved away and today live elsewhere in Oklahoma or in places like Washington, California, Missouri and Texas. In Sophia Cemetery in Beaver County James Brooks Davis is laid to rest alongside his wife Callie. Select this link to visit their grave online.

The Anniversary of William and Bura Davis Shepard. 100 years ago this year -- shortly after moving from Indiana -- James and Callie's oldest daughter Bura got to know another recent immigrant to Oklahoma by the name of William Shepard. The following spring Will and Bura decided to marry. Because of the high regard in which she held her father, James' 45th birthday, June 2, 1915, seemed the best day to tie the knot. So on Wednesday, June 2, after a very rainy spring in the panhandle, 18 year old Bura and 26 year old William got into his new Model T Ford, braved the mud mired roads and ventured out to the country home of their Church of Christ preacher and the deed was done. 

It's been 99 years since Will and Bura were married, but their love and devotion remains a great influence on those of us who knew them. The top couple in the tryptich on the right is William and Bura in San Diego in 1975, the year they celebrated 60 years of marriage. William died the following year, and Bura 10 years after that.

The Anniversary of Gary and Cindy Shepard. One of the Great Grandchildren of James Brooks Davis, my brother Gary Shepard, also chose June 2 as the wedding day for him and his bride Cindy. On Saturday, June 2, 1979 -- 35 year ago tomorrow -- Gary married Cindy Ann Dillon at the home of me and my wife Cindy in Los Alamitos, California, in a small beautiful ceremony attended by a few friends. Happy Anniversary and best wishes to Gary and Cindy! The middle couple on the right is Gary and Cindy on their wedding day in 1979.

The Anniversary of Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz. Today, June 1, is the anniversary of Jeremy and Desiree Ortiz of Blue Springs, Missouri. Jeremy is one of the Great Great Grandchildren of James and Callie Davis and the oldest grandchild of Thelma Shepard Boyd. He is the first born of Kim Boyd Clark. Jeremy and Desiree were married when they were living here in San Diego 12 years and 5 children ago. The bottom couple on the right is Desiree and Jeremy. Best wishes and happy anniversary to them!

Father's Day is in two weeks. If you have a picture of your father or grandfather that you would like me to include in my upcoming Father's Day photo presentation, please send it my way.
- - -
Steve Shepard

The Life Journey of Lydia Warford, March 22, 2014

Rejoice with your family

in the beautiful land of life.

~Albert Einstein

Happy Birthday Gary! Tomorrow, March 23, 2014 is my brother Gary's birthday. Gary and his wife Cindy live in Oak Harbor, Washington. Like so many of us Shepards and Gowers, Gary was born and raised in San Diego and lived here for most of his life. 11 years ago now he retired from work with the County of San Diego and moved to Washington State.

The first picture, taken last December in San Diego, shows Gary with Cindy's daughter Michele McGauran. This was at the end of a week long cruise Gary took as a civilian family member aboard the USS Nimitz, the ship to which Chief Petty Officer Michele Gauran had been assigned. Gary told me that the experience of sailing on a military vessel from Hawaii to San Diego was a trip of life time.

Lydia Warford Williams. During this National Women's History month, I have been mentioning women of note in our family history. Another of the women who deserves mention is Lydia Warford Williams, who I have not mentioned in this blog for several years. Here's a lineage that shows how she is related to me: 

Lydia Warford Williams (1782-1829) 
John Pouty Williams (1806-1892) 
Margaret Williams Spear (1845-1904) 
Caroline Spear Davis (1865-1951) 
Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986) 
Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) 
Steve Shepard (b. 1948)

From Pennsylvania To Kentucky. Lydia was born near the end of the Revolutionary War in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania, a town named after her uncle Joseph Warford. The town -- which still exists today -- was started when Joseph was deeded 100 acres after his service in the Revolutionary War. Lydia was the youngest of the 9 children of Henry and Elizabeth (Vanhook) Warford. When she was just 2 years old Lydia's father died, perhaps as a result of his service in the Revolution. Lydia's mother then packed up her and her 8 siblings and moved to the wilds of Northern Kentucky and settled east of Louisville.

It was on the frontier in Kentucky that Lydia finished growing up and met John Williams. She married him in 1803 and bore to him 4 children. As fate would have it, another war -- the war of 1812 -- took the primary man in her life once again when Lydia's husband John died in 1813. Instead of being the child of a widow, this time Lydia became a widow herself at just 31 years old, with 4 young children, trying to make her way on the American frontier. Kentucky records show that Lydia received in her husband's estate 203 dollars and 19 3/4 cents, which in those days was enough to move on to the next phase of life for her and her children.

On To Indiana. For some reason -- supportive relatives, close friends? -- Lydia and her 4 kids packed up and moved further west to southern Indiana, which was not much more than Indian territory. Indiana did not become a state until 1816, and even then it did so despite the warring natives that made that region a dangerous place.

Lydia and her children appear in Washington County, Indiana, in the US census records of 1820. She was obviously a hearty and brave young widow to make a life for herself in the rugged hills of southern Indiana. We don't know how she made it through the next dozen or so years, we just know it must have been a struggle for this single mother. Sometime during these years Lydia and her children moved northward to Owen County and settled near Spencer, Indiana, which would become the birthtown of my great great grandmother Maggie Spear in 1845, my great grandmother Callie Davis in 1865, and my grandmother Bura Shepard in 1896.

The second picture shows Pleasant Hill Cemetery in the beautiful wooded hills outside Spencer, Indiana, the town where Lydia lived for a time with her children, and where our Williams, Spear and Davis ancestors settled for several generations. In this cemetery several of our ancestors are buried, including John Pouty Williams, the second son of Lydia Warford Williams, and the man who would become my GGG grandfather.

In 1826, after 13 years of widowhood, Lydia married a man named William Jones and settled with him in Putnam, Indiana, some 25 miles north of Spencer. Unfortunately her life as Mrs. Jones would only last 3 years. She died in 1829 at just 47 years old. But the final 3 years must have been a welcome relief from the many uncertainties, dangers and challenges of her life to that point.

A Life To Admire. What a life journey she lived! Born in Pennsylania during the Revolutionary War, fatherless at 2, and widowed at 31 with four children. During her life, she journeyed 700 miles westward on the American frontier, and finally spent her last 3 years in relative peace. It is hard to imagine the toll that takes on a person, and the personal resources required to endure all the struggles and the heartbreak she encountered. Lydia Warford Williams Jones lived a life that deserves our admiration and our gratitude. Hers was a life that, alongside many other ancestors, has made the people of our family what we are today.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Happy Ground Hog Day! February 2, 2014

The first half of our lives

is ruined by our parents,

the second half by our children.
~Clarence Darrow

Happy Ground Hog Day! And Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law Cindy Dillon Shepard. A long time resident of San Diego, she has lived for the last 11 years in Oak Harbor, Washington with her husband, my brother Gary Shepard. Today is a milestone birthday for Cindy and we wish her the very best. Welcome to the delightful world of sexagenarians!

The first picture shows Cindy with her daughter Michele McGauran and her husband Gary on the left. This picture was taken in San Diego in 1992 at a family reunion.

William Elmer Shepard. My Great Grandfather William Elmer Shepard was born on this day 152 years ago in Wabash, Indiana during the Civil War. His father was away in the War at the time and tragically never made it home to see his new son.

As a young man William Elmer made his way to Madison County, Illinois where he met the woman who would become his wife, Elvira Owens. With two children in tow, including a teenage son William Shepard (who would later become my grandfather) William Elmer and Elvira moved in 1905 to the Oklahoma panhandle where they lived the rest of their lives. They are both buried in Sophia Cemetery in Beaver County, Oklahoma. He died in 1915; she in 1931.

The second picture shows my father Eugene William Shepard (1921-2003) with his hand on the headstone of his grandfather William Elmer Shepard. The marker on the right is the grave of William Elmer's wife Elvira Owens Shepard, who is buried with her second husband Cal Williams. Also in this picture is my dad's aunt, Esther Davis Jenkins (1905-1997). This picture was taken when dad and I made a trip from California to Oklahoma to visit family in the summer of 1989.

William Elmer's headstone is interesting for a couple of reasons. This type of marker, which looks like a section of a tree trunk, was not uncommon. Without branches, it suggests a life cut short, which may have been its meaning here, since William Elmer died at just 53 years old. It may also indicate that William was member of Woodmen of the World, a fraternal organization whose members, until the late 1920s, regularly were buried with this style headstone.

It was not the least expensive marker the family could have placed here, suggesting that William Elmer was a man of some means when he died. He preceeded his wife Elvira in death by 16 years, and left her a handsome, though modest inheritance. When she died, there was a family squabble over who would inherit the estate, a case of some notoriety which eventually was heard by the Oklahoma Supreme Court before being settled. You can read about it here.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Because Two People Fell In Love, October 4, 2011

Family:

all because
two people

fell in love.

~author unknown

Hello Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you from Alameda, California, our home away from home. Cindy and I are enjoying ourselves with Nathan and Chenda and being grandparents of two little ones. Ostensibly we are here helping Chenda who had a nephrectomy just two weeks ago but is doing very well.

I received word recently from my brother Gary's wife, Cindy Dillon Shepard, that her daughter Michele McGauran was promoted to Chief Petty Officer in the Navy just a couple of weeks ago. Gary and Cindy were present to witness the ceremony at Lemoore Naval Air Station in Lemoore, California where Michele is presently stationed. Below is a picture of Cindy's daughter Michele that was taken by the proud mom at the ceremony last month. Congratulations to Michele!

Gary and Cindy live in Oak Harbor, Washington, which is, of course, a long way from Lemoore, California, but is just down the road a bit and across the bridge from Anacortes, Washington where our mother Maida Shepard lives. Below is Gary and Cindy in a picture that was taken this past summer at the Shepard family reunion in Anacortes. (Thanks to Jerry Clark for taking this picture.)

Gary is the oldest of the 5 children of Maida Gower Shepard and the late Eugene Shepard. Below is a picture that was taken last fall and shows us 5 siblings. From right to left are Gary, me, Darrell, Barbara and Russell. Even though we were all born and raised in San Diego, I am the only one of the bunch who lives in California today. The others all live in Western Washington.

Davis Headstone Project. I talked to my second cousin Jerry Davis of Grand Prairie, Texas recently about our campaign to raise money for a new headstone for our common ancestors Alexander and Elizabeth Davis. They reside in the old New Union Cemetery (I love that oxymoron!) in Spencer, Indiana. (Click here for the details.) Jerry tells me that we are well over half way toward our goal of raising $958 for the new headstone. He has spread the word beyond the readership of this blog to a number of other Davis descendants who are interested in participating. Some of you have also expressed an interest in contributing. 

We are hoping to complete this project in the next few months. So if you would like to participate, please send a check to either Jerry (2637 Remington Drive, Grand Prairie, Texas 75052) or to me (918 Camino de la Reina #55, San Diego, Ca 92108). If you have any questions, Jerry or I would be glad to answer them.

- - -

Steve

Shepard Family Update January 29, 2010

Other things may change us, 
but we start and end with the family. 
~Anthony Brandt

Hello Shepard Family and Friends,

Greetings to all of you wherever you may be. We survived our "major" (for us) winter storm last week here in San Diego and have settled back into our typically mild, usually sunny, and mostly pleasant days.

This coming Tuesday, February 2, is Ground Hog Day and the midpoint of winter. It is also the birthday of William Elmer Shepard, my father's father's father. Last week I mentioned my mother's mother's mother, Finetta Clementine Dearien, and the similarities between her story and William Elmer's story. Thanks to those of you who responded to Finetta's story with a wide range of comments. Here are some of them,

"That was an awesome story and I enjoyed your take on it!..." (from a family member in Wa.)

"That was a really interesting story. Boy, I'll tell you. Those crimes just keep happening and it makes me so angry. I just don't understand it..."  (from a family member in the Southwest)

"I wouldn't have made a very good wife back in those days. That 'ol step-father would have to sleep sometime. I'm sure they had big heavy iron skillets and I would have made good use of one of them. It wouldn't be to cook his meals either..." (from a family member in Texas)

My Father's Father's Father.  William Elmer's life story, though similar to Finetta's in several ways, may evoke a different response in many of us. He was born in Wabash, Indiana in 1862, while his father William (no middle name) Shepard was away serving on the side of the Union forces in the Civil War. Tragically his father died and never returned to meet his son. William Elmer, as his father's only child, is the lone link between all of us Shepard's today and our Shepard ancestors.

The Shepard family line continues today because he was adventuresome enough to trek across the Midwest alone as a young man to Madison County, Illinois, where he met and married Elvira Owen and with her raised two children. The boy they named after the father he never knew, William (no middle name) Shepard; and the daughter they named Sadie. (This past Wednesday, by the way, was the 118th anniversary of Sadie's birth.)

William Elmer's journey from his home in Indiana did not end in Illinois. About the turn of the 20th century he again began feeling the spirit of adventure, and moved his wife and children to the panhandle of Oklahoma, where he and Elvira lived the rest of their days.

It was there in Beaver County, Oklahoma that his son William met Bura Davis, his daughter Sadie met Levi Pruett, and the continuity of the Shepard line was assured. William Elmer died of stomach cancer in February, 1915, but not before he saw the Shepard line move precariously from 19th century Indiana to 20th century Oklahoma, with the promise of a bright and fruitful future that continues into the 21st century.

Unfortunately I have no pictures of William Elmer Shepard or his father. The first picture I am including today is one of the oldest pictures I have of my Grandfather William (no middle name) Shepard, William Elmer's son. Stamped across the front is "Pioneer Studio, Springfield, Colorado". In 1928 William and Bura moved their family from Oklahoma to Two Buttes, Colorado (near Springfield) and lived there until 1940 when they moved to San Diego. This picture was taken during those years, probably in the early 1930s.

Happy Birthday, Cindy! February 2 is also the birthday of Cindy Ann Shepard who has been married to my brother Gary Shepard for over 30 years. She and Gary make their home in Oak Harbor, Washington, and are proud to claim 6 children, and 7 grandchildren between the two of them. Gary's children and grandchildren all live in or around Weatherford, Texas, and most of you are familiar with them: Kerri, Lyndsey and Mandi Aquiningoc, Kelly (and husband James) Savage with children Nate and Kyle, and Jason Shepard.

The second picture I am including is a collection of photos showing Cindy and her kids. At the top is Gary and Cindy. Below them is Cindy's oldest daughter Michele who serves in the Navy in LeMoore, Ca. Next is her son Rickey McGauran of LaVerne, Ca, with his wife Kristie and their kids Kody and Keely. At the bottom is Cindy's daughter Samantha of Montgomery, Alabama and her boyfriend Randy. On the bottom right is Samantha's daughter Breauna of Georgia with her boyfriend Curtis, who are expecting a daughter in May - Cindy's first Great Grandchild!
- - -
Steve

Shepard Family Update, March 20, 2009

Family life is full of major and minor crises
the ups and downs of health, success and failure
in career, marriage, and divorce.
With all of these felt details,
life etches itself into memory and personality.
It's difficult to imagine anything
more nourishing to the soul.
-- Thomas Moore

Dear Shepard Family and Friends,

Greetings to y'all on this first day of spring! In our day of well heated homes, the coming of spring does not mean what it did 100 years ago. At that time many of our people lived in places where keeping warm through the winter required a major effort, making spring a very appealing time with the promise of better weather.

That was especially true of our Indiana ancestors, including Maggie (Margaret Frances) Williams (1845-1904), who was Gram's (Bura Davis') grandmother. She lived her whole life near Spencer, Indiana where the winters can be harsh. Maggie was the baby of the 9 children born to Sarah and John Pouty Williams. In the early spring of 1861, when Maggie was just 15, her 21 year old sister Callie (Caroline Matilda Williams), married a young man named William Spear. Though this wedding took place as the Civil War was beginning, it must have been a happy occasion, especially for the impressionable teenager Maggie.

Just two years later Callie -- only 23 at the time -- died while giving birth to her and William's first child (Isolena Belle Spear). The family was crushed, especially young Maggie. In the ensuing months, as her grief subsided, she fell in love with the young widower William, and two years later, in January of 1865, they were married. She was just 19, he was 34.

Over the next 17 years Maggie and William brought 8 children into the world, and might have had more if he had not died the year after their youngest arrived. But their first one was special. It was a baby girl who they decided to name Caroline Matilda, after Maggie's late sister, and William's first wife. This Callie would later become the mother of Bura Davis, and the great grandmother of those of my generation.

• See an 1880 picture of Maggie with her teenage daughter Callie
• See a 1922 picture of Callie with husband and grandchildren, including Elmer, Eugene, Pauline and a couple of Kilpatrick kids.

Among Callie Spear Davis' great grandchildren is Gary Shepard -- Maida and Eugene's oldest -- whose birthday is this coming Monday. Gary, lives in Oak Harbor, Washington with his wife Cindy, and has three children -- Kerri Aquiningoc, Jason Shepard and Kelly Sauvage -- and 4 grandchildren, all of whom live in or near Weatherford, Texas. Gary is retired and enjoys cooking, occasional weekends at their lake house, spending time with their dog Dexter, visiting his mom Maida in Anacortes, and being involved in his church in Oak Harbor. And he does not seem to miss the San Diego area at all, which is where he spent nearly his entire life until 6 years ago. Happy Birthday, Gary!

The first picture I am sending shows Gary with his oldest daughter Kerri on his lap at Christmas 1968. The picture was taken in San Diego. Gary and his wife Jackie had moved back to San Diego earlier that year after a couple of years in Michigan, where Kerri was born.

The second picture I am including was taken (39 Christmases later!) in Anacortes, Washington and shows Gary and his wife Cindy, with Cindy's daughter Samantha McGauran of Spanaway, Washington.

Be sure and make your plans for the Shepard Family Reunion this summer on Saturday, July 18 at the Newcastle Community Center, Newcastle, Oklahoma.

--
Steve