A Memory No One Can Steal, March 12, 2016

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal,

love leaves a memory no one can steal.

-From an Irish headstone

Birthday Wishes to Russ and Steve. Happy birthday this Sunday to my brother Russ Shepard and his son Steven Paul Shepard, who were both born on March 13; Russ in 1962 in San Diego, Steve in 1990 in Anacortes.

Steven P. Shepard with Maida Shepard

Russ is the 6th child of Maida and Eugene Shepard and was raised in San Diego, but moved to Anacortes in the 1970s and has lived there ever since. Steve, born in 1990, is the first child of Russ and Pam Shepard of Anacortes, Wa, where Steve has lived his whole life.

This first picture, taken just a few months ago in Anacortes, shows Steven on the left with his grandmother Maida Shepard.

Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc. Celebrating a birthday earlier this month is Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc of Weatherford, Texas. She was born in Walled Lake, Michigan on March 3 to my brother Gary Shepard and his wife at the time Jackie. Kerri came to California as a baby and was raised here before moving to Weatherford, Texas where she still lives today.

Eugene and Maida Shepard Family

This second picture is an oldie which includes two of the birthday folks mentioned above, Russell Shepard and Kerri Shepard Aquiningoc. 

Taken in 1974 this image shows a gathering of all the members at the time of the family of Eugene and Maida Shepard. The picture was taken in the backyard of the San Diego home of Hendrix and Starlene Gower. In the front on the right are 12 year old Russ Shepard (in green) and 6 year old Kerri Shepard (in the long dress), who look more like brother and sister than uncle and niece. Also pictured from left to right are Kelly, Darrell, me, Cindy, Barbara, Jackie, Gary, Maida, Eugene and Jason.

Jerry Clark

Happy Birthday Jerry. Monday, March 14 is the birthday of Jerry Clark. Born in Albuquerque in the very middle of the last century, he and his wife Cathrina live today in Lubock, Texas. They enjoy life there as grandparents to about a dozen total grandkids. 

May She Rest In Peace: Gloria Harrell Watson (1953-2016). With sadness I report the untimely death of my cousin Gloria Harrell Watson. She passed away early this week in her apartment in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her mother is Vicki Gower Johnston of Chandler, Arizona, and her siblings are Paula Tuzzolino, Michael Harrell and David Harrell.

Gloria was born and raised in San Diego. She and Bill Watson were married in San Diego in December 1972, after which they moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. She is one of the 12 grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. The only other one of those 12 to have passed away is my sister Linda Shepard who died in 1971 and who at the time was the wife of Jerry Clark mentioned above.

Gloria Watson, Nola Gower, Steve Shepard

This last picture was taken in 1993 in San Diego and shows Gloria on the left with her Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower and me on the right. Gloria was visiting San Diego from Tennessee at the time, taking care of Granda Gower, who was ready to undergo knee replacement surgery (at 90 years old!).

Our prayers and best wishes go out to the family of Gloria, especially her mother Vicki and her brothers David and Michael and her sister Paula.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Hello From Old Mexico, February 27, 2016

We are all motivated, far more than we care to admit,

by characteristics inherited from our ancestors,

which individual experiences of childhood cannot erase.

~Agnes E. Meyer

Greetings to all of you from the West Coast of Mexico where Cindy and I are cruising with our mothers, Paula Hicks Harris and Maida Gower Shepard. Paula and Maida, Cindy and I are all enjoying ourselves as we take in the sites of our various ports of call. Today we are in the city of Puerto Vallarta, a beautiful bustling town full of lovely beaches, enjoyable restaurants and endless shops. It is our first stop on this four stop journey.

It is a joy to spend nearly two weeks traveling with the two people who are together the most experience filled individuals in our entire extended family. Paula and Maida represent 184 years of family life. These two women, who have known each other for over 50 years, have had life journeys that are remarkably similar. Both of them spent most of their growing up years in Oklahoma, they both married Navy men (both of whom are gone now) in 1945, during the closing period of World War II, and they both settled in San Diego as young adults, where they raised their children. Both of them, by the way, have had a long time affiliation with the Church of Christ, including many years each at the El Cajon Boulevard Church in San Diego. And, most importantly, they had children who married each other, namely Cindy and me.

The first picture, taken here on the ship just a few days ago, shows Paula and Maida as we were on our way to dinner on our formal night.

Birthday Wishes to Darrell. Happy Birthday to my brother Darrell Shepard, the fourth of the six children born to our parents Eugene and Maida Shepard. Darrell and his wife Mary live in Bothell, Washington, not far from where their 3 children live, Christopher, Rachel and Patrick. They are the proud grandparents of 4 grandkids: Logan and Mason, Kellan, and Findley.

Darrell, like all his siblings, was born and raised in San Diego, where he graduated from Kearny High School. He then went on to Abilene Christian University where he graduated and met his wife-to-be Mary Medina. He and Mary have lived in the Northwest now for over 30 years.

This second picture shows grandpa Darrell with young Mason, son of Patrick and Nicole Shepard of Bothell, Washington. This is one of Darrell's favorite family pictures and was taken last fall. Happy Birthday to Darrell!
- - -
Steve Shepard

A Long and Proud History, February 19, 2016

A person represents each of several of their ancestors

as if there were seven or eight of us
rolled up in each one’s skin —  

and they constitute the variety of notes 

for that new piece of music which each life is.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hershell Gower. Happy Birthday today to my cousin Hershell Gower. Hershell was born in San Diego, the first of the 12 grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. He came along just a year or so after his parents Hendrix and Starlene Gower, and his grandparents Leroy and Nola Gower, first moved to San Diego in 1942. Though a native San Diegan, Hershell is retired and lives today with his wife Shelly in Bullhead City, Arizona. His sons are Shaun and Lloyd Gower and still live in the San Diego area.

This first picture is from 1972 and shows Hershell on the left with his Grandparents Leroy Gower and Nola Shannon Gower. It was taken in the kitchen of their home on Lynne Street in San Diego where the Gowers lived for nearly 50 years. Grandpa Gower developed very poor eye sight later in his life which helps explain the stern and expressionless look on his face in this picture.

A Long History. The Gower family line is one of the most remarkable in our entire family tree, and can be traced 9 generations before my Grandfather Leroy Gower, all the way back to Abell Gower (1640-1689), of Henrico, Virginia. He is the oldest relative of ours that I can find anywhere, who was born in the new world. 

The GGG Grandson of the aforementioned Abell Gower, was his namesake Abel Gower (1796-1870). He and wife Rachel Lay Gower (1800-1860) were Tennesseans who furthered the westward movement of the Gowers by migrating westward within Tennessee and then to Izard County (later to be renamed Stone County), Arkansas just prior to the Civil War. Stone County is, of course, where our Gower relatives lived for several generations before moving to Oklahoma and then California. Stone County, Arkansas is also where some of our Gower kinfolk still live today.

This Sunday is the 200th anniversary of Abel Gower and Rachel Lay Gower, who were married in Roane County, Tennessee on Wednesday, February 21, 1816. The "Early Land Records for North Carolina and Tennessee 1753-1931" show that Abel and Rachel Lay were land owners. In 1827 the young parents Abel and Rebecca Gower purchased 45 1/2 acres of land in Warren County, in Eastern Tennessee. The above image is the record showing the purchase of those 45 1/2 acres in Warren County. 

For reasons unknown to us, they didn't do much with that land purchase. By 1830 the Gowers had moved even farther westward, and were settled in Wayne County in Western Tennessee. Eventually they migrated out of Tennessee and into Northern Arkansas.

The marriage of Abel and Rachel witnessed the birth of 8 children between 1819 and 1840. Their 4th child was Jackson William Gower who fought for the south in the Civil War, and survived to live into the 20th Century. He is the one from whom we are descended.

This quick summary is just one slice of the proud heritage of our Gower ancestors, whose history is rich and varied, and as lengthy as America itself.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Happy Valentine's Day Tomorrow! February 13, 2016

Love doesn't make the world go round.

Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.

~Franklin Jones

Gloria Harrell Watson. Today is the birthday of my cousin Gloria Harrell Watson of Knoxville, Tennessee. She is the second daughter of my aunt Vicki Gower Johnston of Chandler, Arizona and is the sister of Paula Tuzzolino and Michael and David Harrell. Gloria was born and raised in San Diego, but has lived most of her life now in Tennessee. Happy Birthday on this Valentine's Weekend to Gloria!

This picture, taken last year in Oak Harbor, Washington, shows Gloria on the left with her mom Vicki and her sister Paula.

Happy Valentines Day! Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, an opportunity to celebrate love, especially within our family. The following slide show includes images of various members of our family, all of whom are kissing, one of the most common expressions of love. You will see wedding day kisses, pecks on the cheek, baby smooches and some other crazy kisses that reflect well this diverse, oddball family to which we all belong. The pictures are of kids and adults, young parents and older lovers, wedding moments, birthday celebrations and everything in between. Each picture includes at least one member of our extended family. How many of these folks can you identify?

"Kiss Me." Enjoy this homage to love within our family, to the music of the 90s band Sixpence None the Richer. 

Show-Me-The-Love Award. Each Valentine's Day I give a "Show-Me-The-Love Award" to a person in our family tree who exhibited extraordinary love in their life. This year the award goes to my 5X Great Grandmother Elizabeth Van Hook Warford (1746-1805).

Elizabeth Warford was a genuine American pioneer, whose life was intertwined with the history of our country and whose loving sacrifice was remarkable as she gave herself for her family and her expanding nation.

She was born in 1746 to Benjamin and Lydia Van Hook, of Monmouth County, New Jersey just 50 miles south of New York City. By the time Elizabeth was 18 she had made her way half way across Pennsylvania to Fulton County where she married Henry Warford, who had served in the Revolutionary War, as did Henry's brother Joseph Warford. Wikipedia says that as a result of their military service, George Washington deeded to Joseph 100 acres of land in southern Pennsylvania that the Warfords turned into a village which later was named Warfordsburg, an historic town that exists to this day.

Much of Elizabeth and Henry's married life was occupied with the Revolutionary war, but Henry spent enough time at home so that he and Elizabeth brought into the world 9 children in the 20 years they were together. Just about the time the Revolutionary War ended husband Henry died, perhaps from war wounds. In any case it created a real problem for Elizabeth who now had 8 mouths to feed and no husband to help.

Elizabeth was a genuine frontier woman. We don't know the details of how she did it, we just know that sometime after her husband Henry died in 1784, she packed up the kids -- who ranged in age from 2 and 18 -- and with help from family and friends, made her way westward across some 500 miles of rugged American landscape. She journeyed through Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio and into Kentucky where she and her family settled. They may have traveled by steamboat down the Ohio River which was something of a "superhighway" for pioneers making their way across the western frontier.

They traveled as far as Louisville, Kentucky, possibly because Louisville was the site of the Ohio River Falls, making it impossible for river boats to travel any farther. Elizabeth and her family then settled just east of Louisville in the town of Shelbyville. It was there that Elizabeth lived the last 10 or so years of her life until she died just short of her 60th birthday in 1805. She did live long enough to see her daughter Lydia Warford, in 1803, marry Kentuckian John Williams. Lydia and John are the two from whom we Shepards are descended.

It is hard to imagine the love, courage, and strength of character that it took for Elizabeth to move her family across America and begin a new life. She clearly had a strong love of the frontier, a longing to settle this new land and discover the opportunities available to those who traveled westward. Hers is a remarkable American story with great adversity as well as great accomplishment. She receives the "Show-Me-The-Love Award" for this year.

Here is Elizabeth's lineage for the last 275 years:

• Elizabeth Van Hook Warford (1742-1805) and Henry Warford (1741-1784)
• Lydia Warford Williams (1782-1829) and John Williams (1782-1813)
• John Pouty Williams (1802-1898) and Sally Richardson Williams (1801-1877)
• Margaret Williams Spear (1845-1904) and James Spear
• Caroline Spear Davis (1865-1951) and James Brooks Davis (1870-1928)
• Bura Davis Shepard (1896-1986) and William Shepard (1888-1976)
• Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) and Maida Gower Shepard (b. 1924)
• Steve Shepard (b. 1948) and Cindy Harris Shepard (b. 1948)

- - -
Steve Shepard

"Tragedy as a Source of Strength", February 7, 2016

There is a saying in Tibetan,

'Tragedy should be utilized

as a source of strength.'

~Dalai Lama XIV

Happy Birthday Paula. Today is the birthday of my cousin Paula Harrell Tuzzolino of Sun Lakes, Arizona. Born and raised in San Diego, Paula lived most of her growing up years in Southern California. She has one daughter, Heather Robson Cotten, and two Granddaughters, Tori and Lexi, who live in Austin, Texas. Paula is one of the 12 Grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower.

For many years Paula lived in Oak Harbor, Washington where she met and married Frank Tuzzolino. She and Frank spend most of their time these days in Sun Lakes, Arizona, outside Phoenix, although they still go back and forth to Oak Harbor. Last summer Paula's step dad Duke Johnston passed away in Washington, and as a result Paula's mom Vicki Gower Johnston moved to the Phoenix area to be near Paula.

This first picture was taken last summer when the family gathered in Oak Harbor for Duke's funeral. In this picture are Paula, on the left, and her sister Gloria Watson of Knoxville, Tennessee on the right.

The second picture was taken in Oak Harbor some years ago and shows Paula on the left with her daughter Heather Cotten.

Remembering Phil Wilk. Tomorrow is the 81st anniversary of the birth of Phillip Wilk, the husband of my cousin Beverly Russell, and the father and grandfather of Shannon and Emma Wilk of Atchison, Kansas. Phil passed away in 2007 in his hometown of Leavenworth, Kansas. 

When Phil and Bev were married, back in the 1960s and 1970s, it was a time when most of our Shepard and Russell family members lived in San Diego and were a close knit clan. When Beverly tragically died in 1974 of a brain aneurysm at just 34 years old, she left Phil with two young children, Karl (5 years old) and Shannon (17 months old). It was obviously a very difficult time for Phil and his children, as well as for our whole family, but Phil accepted well the task of fatherhood and is remembered today for his commitment and dedication to his family. 

This third picture shows Phil on the left, next to his mother-in-law Pauline Shepard Russell. Next to them are William and Bura Shepard, with Phil's father-in-law Bill Russell on the far right. This family picture was taken in 1975 just a year after Bev died.

This story is one more reminder that tragedy strikes every family. How a family responds to it determines the quality of the family life. We can be grateful for family members in our past, like those pictured here, and their strength of character.
- - -
Steve Shepard

"I Don't Need Google", February 2, 2016

There is something about

reviewing the lessons of the past

that prepares us to face

the challenges of the future.

~L. Tom Perry

On this Ground Hog Day, I am celebrating three different but important celebrations among people within our family tree.

Cindy Ann Shepard. Today is the birthday of Cindy Ann Dillon Shepard, the wife of my brother Gary Shepard, who lives in the town of Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, Washington. Cindy was actually born in Rhode Island, but was raised in Southern California. She and Gary were married in Orange County in 1979, and then lived in the San Diego area until they retired to Washington in 2003 where they live today. Cindy has worked for several years in nearby Mount Vernon, Washington at Schenk Packing Company. 

Gary and Cindy Shepard

This first picture shows Gary and Cindy and was taken this past Christmas at the home of Maida Shepard in Anacortes, Washington. Happy Birthday to Cindy!

William Elmer Shepard (1862-1915). Today is the birthday of my Great Grandfather William Elmer Shepard. His is one of the more remarkable stories to be found in our entire family tree, that I have written about numerous times in this blog. His father was a Civil War soldier named William Shepard who died just 5 months after William Elmer was born.

The widow and mother Mary Elizabeth Sprague Shepard rebounded by marrying an older man in Montgomery County, Indiana who already had his own family, but was kind enough to take into his household this young widow and her two sons, 3 year old William Elmer and 4 year old Frank. This united family did not blend well and by the time William Elmer was an older teenager he struck out on his own. He hightailed it out of Montgomery County, then out of the state of Indiana, and landed in Madison County, Illinois, where he met Elvira Owens and his wandering days were over. After marrying Elvira and having two children with her, he moved to Beaver County, Oklahoma where he and Elvira lived out their days. He died in 1915, also in the month of February, at just 53 years old.

We know from the stories of his son, my Granddad William Shepard, that William Elmer died from what was diagnosed at the time as stomach cancer. He was a good father, husband and church member (South Flat Church of Christ), and made a great impact on his son. He died just 4 months before his son married Bura Davis. We remember him today for the witness that he was to his family and his church.

John and Sally After 190 Years. Today is also the anniversary of two of my GGG Grandparents, John Pouty Williams (1806-1898) and Sarah (Sally) Richardson (1801-1877). They were married on this day in 1826, 190 years ago. 

John was born in Kentucky but after his father died in 1813 when young John was a child, his mother Lydia Warford Williams took their 4 children and moved them to Indiana where their family settled for several generations. In Indiana young John met Sally Richardson and even though she was 5 years older, married her when he was 19 and she was 24. Sally was originally from Virginia but had moved as a young woman to Washington County, Indiana, where she and John tied the knot. 

Headstone of Sarah (Sally) Richardson Williams

We don't know much about the wedding of John and Sally, other than it took place in Southern Indiana, on this day, the very midpoint of winter, Ground Hog Day (although the Puxtahawny Phil tradition did not even start until some years later). Indiana was still very much frontier America at that time, the state itself was still very young, Indians were still a major challenge, and travel was very primitive and difficult through this rugged, untamed landscape. 

John and Sally's marriage lasted 51 years -- an amazing length of time in those days -- and endured the build up to, the fighting of, and the rebuilding after the Civil War. Their love resulted in 9 children and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, including Bura Davis Shepard, my grandmother. Sally died in 1877 while John lived until 1898. Grandmother Bura was born just 14 months before the death of her Great Grandfather John Pouty Williams, with the real possibility that the two of them may have actually spent some special moments together.

John and Sally Williams are yet another remarkable couple in our family tree whose lives are worth remembering, and whose love and devotion to one another is deserving of our gratitude. Their final resting place is in the beautiful Pleasant Grove Cemetery in the hills northwest of Spencer, Indiana.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Remembering Sadie Shepard Pruett, January 29, 2016

Tradition means giving votes 

to the most obscure of all classes

-- our ancestors.

It is the democracy of the dead.

~Gilbert Keith Chesterton

This week celebrates the birthday of my Great Aunt, Sadie Shepard Pruett, the only sister of my Grandfather William Shepard. She lived from January 27, 1892 until January 29, 1980.

My Granddad William Shepard was 3 years older than his sister Sadie, both of whom were born in Madison County, Illinois, just across the river from Saint Louis, Missouri. They were teenagers when their parents William Elmer Shepard and Elvira Owens Shepard, moved the family in 1905 to Beaver County, Oklahoma.

The United States Census of 1910 shows that, in the small farming community of Logan, Beaver County, Oklahoma, the William Elmer Shepard family was a close neighbor of the Charles Edward Davis family. One of the Davis granddaughters was Bura Davis, who in 1915 became the bride of Sadie's brother William Shepard. That union created a bond between the Davis and Shepard families that continues to this day.

(Side Note: on this day 167 years ago -- January 29, 1849 -- the aforementioned neighbor of the Shepards', Charles Edward Davis, was born. He was the grandfather of my grandmother Bura Davis Shepard.) 

I never knew my great aunt Sadie Shepard Pruett despite the fact that our lives overlapped by several decades. She visited her brother William Shepard and his family in San Diego in the 1940s, this second remarkable family picture having been taken on one such visit. It shows Sadie (in the dark dress in the middle) and husband Levy (middle of the top row) with other Shepard and Russell family members while visiting the border town of Tijuana in 1946. 

Though she visited family in California, Sadie never lived any farther west than rural Beaver County. In 1910, at just 18 years old, she gave up her teaching job in the local public school to marry Levy Pruett who was 12 years older than her. They had 3 daughters: Alberta, Gayle and Twila. The first picture (above) shows the beautiful young mother and wife Sadie at 23 years old with her first two daughters Alberta and Gayle. This lovely picture may actually have been taken on the occasion of the marriage of her brother William Shepard to Bura Davis.

Sadie is buried alongside her husband Levy Pruett in the Sophia Cemetery near Elmwood, Oklahoma. That cemetery is just around the corner from the South Flat Church of Christ, a congregation which was dear to the hearts of many of our Shepard and Davis family members in the early years of the 20th century.


Unfortunately there has been very little communication over the years between the descendants of Sadie Shepard Pruett and her brother William Shepard. Today, many of the Shepards live on the West Coast, while many of Sadie's descendants live in and around Oklahoma. Perhaps that lack of interaction will change as generations go by and as the internet makes possible greater communication between distant relatives.

Seeking Valentine's Day Pictures. As I mentioned last week, I am putting together a family photo presentation for Valentine's Day. If you have a "kissing picture" including family members, you are welcome to send it to me for inclusion in this fun photo slide show.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Prelude to a Kiss, January 20, 2016

If you hear a song in blue,

Like a flower crying for the dew,

That was my heart serenading you,

My prelude to a kiss.

~Craig Lucas

Valentine's Day is Coming Soon. In a few short weeks we will celebrate Valentine's Day. I plan to compile a musical photo presentation to celebrate love in our family. I invite you to send me a photo of members of your family kissing, to be included in that presentation. 

It could be a dad's peck on a baby's cheek, a warm smooch on an unsuspecting ear, a familial peck on a grandparent's forehead, a warm kiss in a loving embrace, an old photo, a recent snapshot, etc. I think you get the idea. The possibilities are endless. Are you up to the task? Pucker up and give it your best shot. Have some fun. Be creative and send me your photo in an email before Valentine's Day.

Birthday Wishes to Dane and Nathan! Tomorrow, January 21, is the birthday of my cousin Dane Shepard and his son Nathan Ross Shepard who were born on the same day of the year. One would think that would be a highly unusual occurrence, since the odds of it happening are 1 in 365. It happened to Dane and Nathan, when the latter was born in 1996. Oddly enough it also happened to my brother Russ when his son Steven was born on Russ' birthday in 1990: twice in the Shepard family in 6 years! What are the odds of that happening?

Dane lives in New Castle, Oklahoma with his wife Cindy and daughter Kaylan, while their son Nathan will celebrate his 20th birthday tomorrow while in college in Florida. This first picture shows Dane and wife Cindy in a recent photo that Dane graciously sent me recently.

Dane: Yes, it's that time of year again for Nathan and me. We have had a very eventful year which has kept us busier than ever. Turning 65 is a milestone. You definitely know you are a senior citizen when you join Medicare and are eligible for senior discounts when you fly. I haven't slowed down at all and I'm grateful for the continued health to keep up with Nathan and Kaylan, and the rest of our extended family here. Cindy and I certainly enjoy the progress they are making.

Nathan continues to do well getting his business degree with an emphasis in behavioral science. He is in his third year at Florida College and plans to remain in Florida to attend USF for graduate work. He has managed to balance being in two performing groups, working part time, and dating while keeping up with his studies. Thanks for your continued work with an ever expanding family legacy. "Roots and wings" go well together. ...Gratefully, Dane

Nathan: Hey there! Thank you for the birthday wishes! It has been a little while since the family reunion in OK! I hope you are doing well! I will actually be at school in Florida for my birthday however my parents will be coming down the following week. I would like to give a warm hello to all the Shepard family and best hopes for a good year!

Happy Anniversary Havilah and Kevin. This Saturday, Jan 23, 2016, is the 6th wedding anniversary of Havilah and Kevin Wardle. Havilah is the daughter of my cousin Joan Shepard of Dixon, California and Art Colgain of Salt Lake City, Utah. She is also the niece of the aforementioned Dane and Cindy Shepard. Best wishes to Havilah and Kevin for a wonderful anniversary celebration.

Happy 90th Birthday Bernice Johnson Beckham! Also, best wishes go out today to Bernice Johnson Beckham of Mountain View, Arkansas who turns 90 years old today. Bernice is the first cousin of my mother Maida Gower Shepard. 

Bernice and Maida are among the last surviving grandchildren of my Great Grandparents Samuel Pickens Shannon and his wife Finetta Clementine Dearien. Bernice, who has lived her whole life in Mountain View, Stone County, Arkansas, is an important connection to that part of our Shannon and Gower families that have roots in the hills of Northern Arkansas that go back almost 200 years.
- - -
Steve Shepard

A Relentless Hope, January 13, 2016

Success is to be measured

not so much by the position one has reached in life

as by the obstacles which have been overcome.

~Booker T. Washington

Happy Anniversary to Jeff and Kim Clark! This coming Monday, January 18 is the 9th wedding anniversary of Kim Boyd Ortiz-Clark and Jeff Clark. Kim is a cousin of mine and one of the Grandchildren of William and Bura Shepard. 

Kim and husband Jeff were married in La Jolla, California in 2007 but have lived their entire married life in Blue Springs, Missouri. Best wishes to Kim and Jeff for a wonderful anniversary!

Remembering Samuel and Finetta Shannon. On this day in 1881, two of my Great Grandparents were married in Stone County, Arkansas. They are one more couple in our family tree who chose to marry in the dead of winter. It was undoubtedly cold in the hills of Northern Arkansas on that Thursday, January 13, when my Great Grandfather Samuel Pickens Shannon and Great Grandmother Finetta Clementine Dearien tied the knot. At the time their families were living in the small farming communities of  Sylamore and Timbo, 13 miles west of Mountain View, Arkansas.

I never knew either one of them personally. Sam died before I was born. And although Finetta lived until 1960, I lived in California and never had the opportunity to meet her. But we do know quite a bit about the lives of both of them. The historical record is kind to us in this regard. Both Finetta and Sam had amazing, yet tragic childhoods in their own ways.

Tragic Childhoods. Sam was the 7th of the 9 children of David and Peggy Shannon. Of those 9 children, 2 died in their first year. The other 7 lived in rural Louisiana during the Civil War. Their father died in that conflict when Sam was just 5 years old, leaving mother Peggy and her 7 children in poverty in the post war South, a terrible fate in itself. Fortunately Peggy's brothers from Stone County, Arkansas came to the rescue and moved Peggy and her fatherless children, to live near them in Northern Arkansas. Though Sam's mother was a young Civil War widow, at least he had the stability of a larger family that cared for him, his mother, and his siblings.

Finetta's childhood was also very difficult, but for different reasons. Born in Stone County, Arkansas she was the child of an abusive stepfather Gus Dearien who had molested his own stepdaughter, Finetta's mother Roena Norton. In those days Finetta was considered "illegitimate", which carried a burdensome stigma. She was raised in the hills south of Mountain View, Arkansas by her biological father and her Grandmother Liza Mitchell Dearien.

A Relentless Hope for the Future. So on that Thursday, 135 years ago, when Finetta and Sam married, they came together with lots of painful history, but a relentless hope for the future that led them to a wonderful life with one another. They bore 9 children, the last of whom was my Grandmother Nola Shannon Gower. I remember Grandma Gower talking about the home in which she was raised: a place where hard work was valued, where dirt floors were common, where the most was made of the simplest things, where family life was respected, where long dusty walks to church and community was normal, and where allegiance to the local Baptist Church was important.

It may have been in that little Baptist Church in their local community that their wedding occurred. Samuel was 22 and Finetta was 19 when they said their vows and began a journey of love that would last 49 years. Sam died at 72 in 1930, while Finetta lived till 1960 when she died just 3 months short of her 100th birthday. They are buried next to each other in Gray Cemetery, a humble, at times hidden, family burial site off Happy Hallow Road within walking distance of Timbo.

From painful, humble beginnings, they lived a resilient life, overcoming great odds and leaving a wonderful family legacy. On this anniversary of their wedding, may God bless the memory of Sam and Finetta Shannon and their place in the history of our family.
- - -
Steve Shepard

Watching the Stars Come Out, January 6, 2016

Happy are those who don't fear to see the sun go down,

but instead look forward to watching the stars come out.

~Mary's Motto

January 6 is celebrated throughout the Christian world as Epiphany, the day that commemorates the bright star that led the three wise men to the manger in Bethlehem. Three girls of our larger family are celebrated in today's post. Their ages, where they live, and their immediate families vary considerably, but they are all shining lights of this growing clan that unites us all.

Carsyn Slaughter. Yesterday, January 5, was the third birthday of Carsyn Slaughter, daughter of Cody Slaughter and Courtney Boyd, who is a Granddaughter of Thelma Boyd. Carsyn is one of the Great Great Grandchildren of my grandparents William and Bura Davis Shepard. Carsyn and her immediate family live outside San Diego in Alpine, California. Her proud grandfather is Darren Boyd of Coronado, California.

This first picture shows "Ninja Turtle" Carsyn being held by her dad Cody, alongside her mom Courtney and little sister Camryn, the newest member of their family, who was born last summer. "Happy Birthday!" to Carsyn and best wishes to her family.

Cindy Harris Shepard. Tomorrow, January 7, is the birthday of my wife Cindy Harris Shepard. Born in Visalia, California in the San Joaquin Valley, she came with her family to San Diego as a baby. Today Cindy and I live the retired life in San Diego and enjoy our kids and grandkids. Cindy is proud of her Native American (Chickasaw) heritage, which she can trace for at least 5 generations through her mother Paula Harris and maternal Grandmother Rosa Krause.

This second picture was taken back in November and shows Cindy in the middle with her mom Paula Harris on the right, her son Nathan on the left, and our 3 grandchildren William, Preslea and Logan Shepard scattered throughout.  

Mary Medina Shepard. This coming Sunday, January 10, is the birthday of Mary Medina Shepard, the wife of my brother Darrell Shepard. Originally from Worth, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), Mary lives today with her family in Bothell, Washington. She is the Executive Director of Emeritus Senior Living in nearby Everett, Washington, and loves to spend time with her and Darrell's four grandchildren, Logan, Mason, Kellan and Finley. As Mary puts it, "the biggest joy in life is being a Grandma!"

This third picture shows Mary with sister-in-law Cindy Shepard, taken in San Diego last spring when Mary and Darrell were visiting in Southern California and having dinner at a restaurant in Mission Beach.
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Steve Shepard