Mary Elizabeth "Beth" Shepherd

Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Shepherd, died on September 24, 2020 in Cushing, Oklahoma. She was born on December 17, 1923 in Oakdale, Louisiana, to the late George Hutcherson and Bennetta (Croom) Hutcherson. Funeral service will be at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at First Baptist Church, Timpson, Texas, 75975, with Bro. William Dee Daniel officiating. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Beth’s family moved from Louisiana when she was 2-and-half years old when her father took a job as a traveling salesman for the Lee Hardware Company of Shreveport. His territory was East Texas. She attended grade school and high school in Timpson. She then attended Mary Hardin-Baylor College, where she received a degree in elementary education. After college, she taught school in Eagle Pass and Timpson until she married and moved to Beaumont. She taught school in Beaumont for several years.

On August 29, 1947 she married Edward Marion “Shep” Shepherd. They married after Shep completed his military service and finished his education at Stephen F. Austin College. They had two sons: George Edward Shepherd and Richard Croom Shepherd.

Her husband worked for Sun Oil and it took their family from Beaumont to Philadelphia and then to Tulsa. After he retired, they moved back to Texas, Living in Timpson for several years before moving to a retirement community in Lufkin.

Beth’s faith was a cornerstone of her life: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths,” Proverbs 3:5-6. She was active in the Baptist churches in their communities and was involved in the missionary societies as well as working many years as a hospital volunteer.

She is survived by her sons: George Shepherd and wife Pamela of Cushing, Oklahoma; Richard Shepherd and wife Angela of Peachtree City, Georgia; grandchildren: Ginger Shepherd and husband Joe Palluconi of Hood River, Oregon, Edward Eugene Shepherd of Cushing, Oklahoma, Meredith Shepherd of Nashville, Tennessee, and Nathan Shepherd and wife Jessica of Jacksonville, Florida; and great grandson, Jase Palluconi of Hood River, Oregon.