George T. Sheppard

GEORGE T. SHEPPARD

George Thomas Sheppard, Jr. of Cape Coral, FL, formerly of Cordele, passed away Thursday, March 20, 2014. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, March 23, 2014 in the chapel of Rainey Family Funeral Services with the committal service following in Sunnyside Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m. Mr. Sheppard was preceded in death by his first wife and the mother of his children, Miriam Sharp Sheppard and a daughter, Cathy Sheppard Luck. Mr. Sheppard was born in Turner County and was the son of the late George Thomas, Sr. and Ethel Morton Sheppard. He was a veteran of World War II and served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. A 1948 graduate of Georgia Tech, he received a degree in Engineering and worked as a civil engineer in the construction industry. Mr. Sheppard, a staunch supporter of his Christian faith, was a member of Cordele First United Methodist Church and attended First Baptist Church in Cape Coral. He is survived by his wife, Doris Anderson Sheppard of Cape Coral, FL; two children and their spouses, Lynda and Gerald Thurman of Jasper and Jeff and Donna Sheppard of Cordele; a son-in-law, Jim Luck and his wife, Gina of Loganville. Six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

[courtesy of Helen Shirah Hudson]

Grave marker for George T. Sheppard in the Geo. Thos. Sheppard [Sr.] Lot of Sunnyside Cemetery, Cordele (Crisp county), Georgia. The plot was purchased when his wife Miriam predeceased him in 1981.

George enlisted in the Army at at Fort McPherson, GA on 15 March 1943.

Pfc Sheppard was transferred to Co H, 508th PIR from the Field Force Replacement Depot No. 8 on 31 March 1944.

He was wounded in action on 19 June 1944 and evacuated. He returned to duty with Service Company on 6 July 1944 and was later transferred back to Company H.

On 21 September 1944 Pfc Sheppard was again wounded in action. On 2 October 1944 he was transferred to the hospital's Detachment of Patients and this time did not return to the regiment.