Gary Lee Sheppard's Obituary
Gary Lee Sheppard, a man of adventure, curiosity, faith, and love, returned to his Heavenly Father on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren in Salt Lake City, after a difficult but brief battle with cancer. He was 78.
Born in Chicago, Gary grew up in northern Illinois as the oldest of five children. His first year of school took place in a one-room school. In school, he earned accolades in math and graduated from Dundee Community High School in 1963. He then attended Elgin Community College before entering the workforce, helping his mother support the family as a young adult.
In 1966, Gary received a job offer from Uncle Sam that he quite literally couldn’t refuse. He served two years in the U.S. Army as a finance specialist at Fort McClellan, Alabama. He earned the Sharpshooter Badge and the National Defense Service Medal during his active duty service.
After Gary’s honorable discharge in 1968, he returned to Illinois and rejoined the civilian workforce, discovering computers during his time at Quaker Oats, which began his career as a computer programmer. He later spent the majority of his career with the State of Utah, where he had many beloved friends and associates and retired in 2012 after more than 30 years of state employment.
Gary liked computers, but he loved vehicles and travel. Perhaps his favorite vehicle of all time was the SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 reconnaissance airplane, but he loved aircraft of all types. As a young man in Illinois, he took flying lessons and got as far as completing his first solo flight in a Piper Cherokee. Later in Utah, his house in Kearns had aircraft overhead approaching the Salt Lake airport most evenings, which he enjoyed observing. He rarely missed watching the Thunderbirds when they performed at Hill Air Force Base. It brought a smile to anyone nearby to see his delight in watching and talking about airplanes.
On the ground, Gary often reminisced about cars he had owned in his younger years before becoming a Toyota man, including a 1970 Dodge Charger with which he parted a few years into his marriage—a true sacrifice. He enjoyed pointing out favorite car models to his kids and reminiscing about cars that he or his friends had owned. He especially loved motorcycles and owned a few of them, finally his 1972 Honda CB450 that he rode for decades.
Soon after buying the 1972 Honda, Gary went on a grand adventure: his famous solo motorcycle trip to Alaska. He saved up and quit his job in order to go. He spent several weeks riding from Illinois through the Upper Midwest, Montana, western Canada, and Alaska, including the length of the then-rough Alaska Highway. He camped most nights, met fellow bikers along the way, hitchhiked to get parts when his bike broke down, helped others when they needed it, and enjoyed forests, wildlife, mountains, communities, and culture. Oh, and he took a few photos, to understate it severely. He may have invented the selfie, using his camera’s timer. If you have not seen his legendary Alaska slideshow, you have missed out.
In 1975, Gary went on another grand adventure, an adventure from which he did not return. He moved from Illinois to Utah with a desire to become a river rafting guide, having enjoyed rafting trips in the West with friends. Though he did not find a career in rafting, he did find both the gospel and his sweetheart.
Soon after arriving in Utah and renting an apartment in Salt Lake City, a neighbor introduced him to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He agreed to meet with the missionaries. He liked what he learned and joined the Church through baptism in December 1975. His baptism took place in the baptismal font in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. He brought the good he already had to the Church and became an even stronger disciple of Jesus Christ over the following years and decades.
Ten days after Gary’s baptism, he met Kathy at a wedding reception. They fell in love quickly and married on April 3, 1976 in Westminster, California. They honeymooned at Disneyland and maintained a love for all things Disney throughout their marriage. More importantly, they became partners in living the gospel and providing a Christ-centered home for their children. They were sealed to each other and had Gary Jr. sealed to them in the Salt Lake Temple on April 8, 1977, making their marriage and family eternal through the grace of Jesus Christ.
In 1977, the happy newlyweds’ year was bookended by the arrival of their first two children, Gary Jr. and Angela, followed soon by Adam in 1979. Later came Chris in 1984 and Dave in 1989. Gary loved his wife and children immensely and served them endlessly. He set an example of patience, peace, diligence, and caring in his family and home.
He loved spending time as a family and particularly loved to play games—word games, card games, board games—and was a wizard with number and word puzzle games. Whether he was playing games with his children, giving them horsey rides, playing catch, driving them to classes or games, taking them to see nature, dealing with their car mishaps, or doting on his grandchildren, he loved his family unconditionally.
Also in 1977, Gary and Kathy bought their first house in Hunter, Utah. In 1981, they and the three oldest children moved to Kearns, Utah, where they lived when the two youngest children were born and the four oldest graduated high school. In 2004, they and Dave moved to Gary’s final home in Stansbury Park, Utah. Gary’s love of outer space had brought the family to the Stansbury Park Observatory a few times in the past. Living in Stansbury has brought Gary and Kathy great joy. They have enjoyed wonderful neighbors and friends in a beautiful and safe community.
In 2004, Gary’s Air National Guard connections enabled him to discover his birth father and meet him and his son Kevin. Kevin happens to live in Utah, and Gary and Kevin enjoyed being brothers over the last 20 years.
Gary had a contagious sense of humor. He loved good, clean jokes and comics, and his laugh was hearty and unmatched in volume. When watching a funny movie or playing a party game, he provided half the comedy with his laugh, antics, and witty comments.
Gary lived a life of service. He served as a part-timer in the Utah National Guard for a year and then the Utah Air National Guard for 20 years, retiring in 2005 with over 27 years of military service in the Army, inactive reserve, National Guard, and Air National Guard. He also made time for various church responsibilities as a leader, teacher, minister, and service missionary. Whether he was filling sandbags during the 1983 Utah floods, feeding elk at Hardware Ranch, volunteering at Camp Kostopulos, or serving in other ways, “He volunteered for everything,” according to his beloved Kathy. On several occasions, Gary, Kathy, and their family contributed a beautifully decorated tree to the Festival of Trees, a highlight of the season and a true labor of love, to raise funds for Primary Children’s Hospital. On top of it all, he put his family and his Christian discipleship first.
We feel thankful for the love and compassion we have received in the wake of Gary’s loss. We have faith that his spirit has gone to a place where he will encounter the spirits of loved ones and friends on the other side of the veil. We believe he is ministering to them now and helping them feel the love of Jesus Christ, just as he did in this world.
Gary is survived by his wife Kathleen; his daughter Angela (Todd) Anderson; his sons Gary (Tracy) Sheppard, Jr., Adam (KristiAnn) Sheppard, Christopher (Tirah) Sheppard, and David (Chelsea) Sheppard; 13 grandchildren; his sister Angela Berger; and his brothers Roy Sheppard, Dorr Sheppard, and Kevin (Rieda) Miller. He was preceded in death by his mother Mary Sheppard (née Camerano); his father Charles Sheppard; his birth father Carl Miller; and his brother Charles “Bobby” Sheppard, Jr.
We invite you to attend a celebration of life on Wednesday, August 14, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 240 Interlochen Lane, Stansbury Park, Utah. A viewing will take place from 9:00am to 10:30am, followed by the service at 11:00am. Interment will follow at Stansbury Park Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). Gary’s family expresses thanks for the skillful, compassionate care he received at HCI these last few months.
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