BANGOR – Gwendolyn E. Shepard, wife of the late William H. Shepard Sr., died Sept. 25, 2006, at a local health care facility. She was born June 29, 1921, in Beverly, Mass., the daughter of Fred Lewis and Beatrice (Pedrick) True. She graduated from Beverly High School, Class of 1939; Essex County Agricultural School, Hathorne, Mass., in 1940; and Endicott College, Beverly, Mass., Class of 1942. During World War II, she worked in the Naval intelligence office in Washington, D.C. She and William H. Shepard were married Oct. 14, 1945, in Washington, D.C. They honeymooned to Bangor, where they set up home and together raised six children. She was a full-time homemaker; a member of the Unitarian Universalist Society Church for more than 50 years; a past president of the Northeast District Unitarian Universalist Association; member and past president of the AUW Guild of the Church; a lifetime member of Ferry Beach Park Association, Saco; member of the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation and Unitarian Universalist Women’s Heritage Society. She was a member and past regent of the Frances Dighton Williams Society, DAR of Bangor and a lifetime member of NDAR. She was a runner for Meals for ME for 16 years; former member of the board of directors for Kings Daughters Home, Bangor; past member of the YWCA Scholarship Committee; an Isaac Farrar Mansion supporter; Maine State Museum Friends; Bangor Public Library Friends; and long-time member of Bangor Nature Club. Surviving are four daughters and their spouses, Linda and Raymond Hardy of Gray, Susan and Gary Dow of Marshfield, Mass., Beverly Shepard of Bangor, Nancy and James Lamson of Lisbon; son, Benjamin Shepard of Glenburn; daughter-in-law, Ruth Gitchell Shepard of Natick, Mass.; grandchildren, Dennis and Danella Hardy of Wichita, Kan., Jeremiah Lamson of Concord, N.H., Jennifer and Paul Lamson-Laplume of Freeport; great-grandson, Devan Hardy of Wichita, Kan.; her brother, Stephen and Patricia True of Merrimac, Mass.; sister-in-law, Norma (Shepard) and Laurence Trefrey; and brother-in-law, Ernest C. Shepard of Beverly, Mass.; several nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her son, William H. Shepard Jr.; and her brother, Fred Lewis True Jr. A service of remembrance will be held 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor, 120 Park St., Bangor, with the Rev. J. Bradbury Mitchell, interim minister, officiating. Gifts in her memory may be sent to the AUW Guild of the Unitarian Universalist Society, P.O. Box 1125, Bangor, ME 04401; Hospice of St. Joseph, 900 Broadway, Bangor, ME 04401; or a charity of one’s choice. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com
GWENDOLYN E. SHEPARD
