Obituary of Dorothy P. Shephard

Dorothy P. Shephard Age 99, of Horseheads, NY, departed this life peacefully on Sunday, September 9, 2012. Dorothy was born in Oakland, Mississippi, on December 20, 1912 to John Herron Parrish and Stella Young Parrish. She graduated from the Mississippi State College for Women in 1933 and taught high school Latin and English for several years. For five months in 1935-36 she traveled as a governess on a journey that led through the Panama Canal, down the west coast of South America, across the Andes, and eventually to France. Dorothy then earned a Master's Degree in Library Science from the University of Illinois. She worked as a librarian at DePauw University and the University of Illinois before taking a position in 1945 at the Army Library in the newly constructed Pentagon. She later worked in the Fairfax County, Virginia, public libraries. Dorothy was predeceased in 2003 by her husband Charles, whom she married in 1951. She is survived by her son Robert Shephard (Sandra Keith), grandson Alex Shephard, sister Mildred Patrick, nephews, Neel and John Patrick, and niece Lynn Cobb. Dorothy traveled extensively and loved gardening and the theater. She was a very active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Bailey's Crossroads, VA, where she served as the first female member of the vestry. Her kindness, lively intelligence, and curiosity brought her many friends, including special friends Ellie McCracken, Ernie Swartout, Mary Humpton, Pat Faber, and Rosemary Hartman, while living at Appleridge Senior Living, where she spent the last dozen years of her life close to her family. Her family and friends will miss her tremendously. A memorial requiem will be celebrated at Appleridge Senior Living, 168 Miller Street, Horseheads, New York on Saturday, September 15 at 2:00 p.m. Donations in Dorothy's memory may be made to Grace Episcopal Church, 375 W. Church St., Elmira, NY 14901.