Jerry Malcolm Sheppard

Jerry Malcolm Sheppard was born to Katherine and Roy Malcolm Sheppard on May 18, 1946. He grew up in Hereford, Texas, alongside four brothers and sisters: Ann Mousner, Don Sheppard, Shelia Mills and Jim Sheppard.At 19 years old, he found Patti Ann and married her as quickly as he could, after dating only 3 months. Through the ups and downs of life, they remained faithfully committed over 52 years of marriage and were blessed to raise two daughters, Keli and Dusti. Years later the girls each fell in love - and Jerry and Patti soon welcomed sons, Thomas and Spencer, into their family. Soon they were proud to count their grandchildren, Zach, Zane, Gavin and Lily as their greatest blessings. Even though Jerry suffered through many health problems, including dementia, he remained a stalwart figure as the head of the family until the day he died on August 26, 2019 at theage of 73.Jerry was a native Texan and never lived anywhere else – that never even crossed his mind. Jerry was that kind of man: once he committed to something, there was no turning back. Many of his favorite things were continued over a lifetime: fishing and hunting anything in season, (and preparing to do both), drinking Dr. Pepper, eating hamburgers, handcrafting wood projects in his shop and listening to country music were all a part of who he was. He was a multi-talented man who could (and did) do anything he set his mind upon. He was always busy working whether it was building a home, making sweet “I Love You” gifts for Patti, fixing the tractor, making fishing rods, or birthing calves. He even had a standing date every year to take the girls on a Christmas shopping trip and would wrap the gifts himself to make sure Patti always had something special. He was a loyal and dedicated husband who loved his wife with absolute love and devotion. At 19 years old, he met and married Patti after dating for only 3 months, but once he said “I do” there was never to be a question raised about it. Early on in their marriage he proudly served his beloved country in the National Guard for 6 years and was honorably discharged in 1971. He then embarked on a lifelong career at Vought Corporation. Before long daughters Keli and Dusti came along and the girls became the light of his life. In the 80’s Jerry and Patti decided to move to the country and found some property in Burleson where he poured his hardworking heart into making their new home into his own piece of heaven. He was an excellent provider and was so very proud of all of “his girls”. He was a stoic man, but was certainly the true definition of a protective father in every way imaginable. He had quite a reputation with the young boys who dated the girls. When his girls were dating, he wholeheartedly enjoyed scaring away their dates by being there when they arrived and sharpening his knives, loading his gun, or just staring the boys down. He always warned them that “hurting my daughter equals pain, or even death for you”. Even though the girls were mortified by these antics, his integrity, wisdom, and discerning spirit in leading his wife and daughters kept many pitfalls and harmful situations away from all of them, and they have a grateful heart for the many ways he protected them. After a time, the girls each fell in love and soon added Thomas and Spencer to the family. He enjoyed taking his new sons hunting and fishing and having them help out at the farm trimming trees and coercing them into all types of manual labor. When the grandkids finally arrived, he counted them among his greatest blessings. Jerry loved babies and was always holding the kids, tickling them and trying to get a laugh. He was very proud of all of his grandchildren and loved bragging about them to anyone who would listen. The swimming pool was a source of great family fun and they built many fond memories playing water volleyball and teaching the grandbabies to swim. Camping together was another favorite pastime that they often did with friends and family. Even though he was content to often be behind the scenes, Jerry was always there to help his loved ones in whatever way he could. There are countless times he helped with a move, sharpened a knife, put up wallpaper, gave advice (whether asked for or not), handcrafted a piece of furniture, installed a shower head, built a deer stand, shared the woes of life, restored a gun, he even killed a few chickens! Jerry was a private and quiet man, not one for social gatherings, but he would often interject the perfect sarcastic remark when you least expected it. He had a terribly stinky sense of humor that only those closest to him really got to experience. He was privileged to have several close friends and family throughout his life, and they all know he loved them genuinely because of his commitment and loyalty to them, even though he had a hard time expressing that in words. Even his faith was something he didn’t talk about often, although he did make the decision to follow Christ as a young man. In 2001, Jerry was able to retire from Vought after 35 years. Shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with dementia. With Patti always by his side, he fought a long, hard and painful battle with dementia, illness, pain and many surgeries over the last20 years. Through all the ups and downs of life they remained committed to each other during their 52 years of marriage. Jerry will always be remembered for the many ways he contributed to each of our lives. To truly know Jerry Sheppard was to know a trustworthy and dependable “man’s man” and a gentleman who deeply loved his own.
In Lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to: Alzheimer's Association
2630 West Freeway, STE 100 Fort Worth, Texas 76120