Randy L. Shepard, age 42, of Mount Gilead, died unexpectedly on Friday afternoon, June 4, 2010, at the Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus following a brief illness caused by his lifelong battle with asthma.
On July 11, 1967, Randy was born in Galion, Ohio, the son of Larry and Linda (Kleinman) Shepard of Mount Gilead.
He graduated from Highland High School in the Class of 1986, where he was active in their basketball program, serving as the team’s manager while in high school and for three years after graduation.
Shortly following high school, Randy enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in the Corps of Combat Engineers from January of 1989 to June of 1992. He was in with the 234th and 79th Combat Engineers in Germany, Desert Shield, and Desert Storm, where he was with the General Construction Equipment Operators and earned several medals. After Desert Storm, he was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, with the 34th Corps of Engineers until June of 1992. He then served as an active Army Reserve with the 175th Quartermasters Company out of Delaware until 1997. He truly had a passion for the military, and he struggled with the reality that his asthma kept him from being able to make the military his lifelong career.
After his honorable discharge from the Army, Randy hit the open road as a long distance semi truck driver for over seventeen years. Having worked with several other companies, he has most recently been affiliated with the Western Star Transportation Company, based out of California. He enjoyed having the opportunity to see most of the country.
An avid fisherman, Randy would try and find a fishing hole as soon as he could after a long haul. He also continued to enjoy watching high school, college and pro basketball, and he looked forward to watching NASCAR on any Sunday he wasn’t on the road.
Having a huge heart, Randy truly loved his family and friends, and most especially his nephew and niece, Tyler and Mara.
Randy will be dearly missed by his parents: Larry and Linda Shepard of Mount Gilead; a sister and brother-in-law, Wendy and Bradley Combs of London, and their children: Tyler and Mara Combs; two uncles: Joseph Kleinman of Galion, and his former wife, Sally Henderson, and Roger Shepard and his wife, Sandy, of Decatur, Alabama; an aunt, Alice (Kleinman) Snyder, and her husband, Norman, of Kennesaw, Georgia; a paternal grandmother, Carol Shepard of Decatur, Alabama; several cousins: Aaron and Noelle Snyder, both of Columbus, Jeff Kleinman of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Amanda (Kleinman) Huggins, and her husband, Bud, of Orlando, Florida, and Stan Cooperider of Iberia; a very close family, Larry Burns of Cardington, and Ricky Belcher of Sparta; and several more dear friends.
He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents: Joseph and Irene Kleinman, and his paternal grandfather, Richard Shepard.
The Shepard family will greet friends from 5 – 7 p.m. on Monday, June 7, 2010, at the Snyder Funeral Home, 76 S. Main St., Mount Gilead, where services celebrating his life will be held on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Paul Walter officiating. Burial with military honors provided by the V.F.W. Post 8054 and AmVets Post 87 will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery in Chesterville.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Disabled American Veterans, P. O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301.
For those wishing to express their condolences to Randy’s family you may do so by visiting www.snyderfuneralhomes.com .
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