William Steve Shepard

W. Steve Shepard, Sr., 82, of Sky Valley, GA, passed away September 8, 2015 in Jacksonville, FL. Son of Osca and Eula Shepard, he was born September 28, 1932 in Colquitt, GA. He served as a 1st Lt. in the U.S. Army. After receiving his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, Steve spent 30 years as a professor and research director at Mississippi State University. He was instrumental in obtaining funds for a building to house the Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Lab (DIAL) on the MSU campus before retiring in 1997. He was a registered professional engineer, member of the MSU President’s Club, Bulldog Club, Sigma Xi, and AIAA. In 1995 he was inducted into the Georgia Institute of Technology Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni. Steve enjoyed travel, especially in his motorhome, and following MSU athletics. One of his passions was high-fidelity stereo and his store Ideal Acoustics.

He is survived by Betty, his beloved wife of 58 years; daughter Alice and husband Jim Anderson of Chapel Hill, NC; son Steve and wife Naomi Shepard, of Northport Alabama; and grandchildren Sarah and Eric Anderson, and Julia, Jonathan and Lyn Shepard. A celebration of life service will be held September 26, at 11:00am at the Chapel of Sky Valley in Sky Valley, GA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Mayo Clinic Cancer Research, Department of Development, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32246 or to the Elephant Sanctuary, P.O. Box 393, Hohenwald, TN 38462.