Dorothy Sheppard

She was born June 30, 1917 in Randolph County, Missouri to Sadie Lee and Hubert Moore.  She married John F. Sheppard in Pekin on April 17, 1938.  He died February 18, 1980.

Surviving are two daughters, Glenda (Mel) Wood of Pekin and Paula (Glen) Vetter of Bloomington.  Both daughters have retired and moved to Fort Myers, Florida.  She also leaves five grandchildren, Melenda (Mike) Lanius of Pekin, Monica (Brian) Pape of Tolono, Jonathan (Kathy) Wood of Bolingbrook, Jessica Vetter of Sacramento, California, and Molly (Tracy) Vetter Smith of Columbia, Missouri.  She also was blessed to enjoy eight great-grandchildren and two step-great-grandchildren.  She leaves a sister, Wanda (Robert) King of Jefferson City, Missouri; and two brothers, Fred (Connie) Moore of Scottsdale, Arizona and David (Lucy) Moore of Columbia, Missouri.

Dorothy graduated from Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and attended school with Sam Walton.  She moved to Pekin on her 18th birthday in 1935, where she worked at Carp’s Department store.  Later she worked in the Tazewell County Recorder’s office and the Treasurer’s office.

She was a member and regular attendee at First Christian Church in Pekin until moving to Fort Myers, Florida to be with her daughters.

In her younger years, she was a Democrat Precinct Committee Chairman and worked the polls as a judge.  She also attended the John F. Kennedy Inaugural dinner.  Dorothy was a member of the Emblem Club and Community Chorus where she helped on the “new member drive” and also the Pekin Women’s Club.

She dearly loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Dorothy enjoyed playing cards, working in her flower garden in her yard and hunting mushrooms at Wood’s Woods.

Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin, where visitation will be one hour before the funeral.  Steve Richards and Pastor Brian Pape will officiate.  Burial will be in Glendale Memorial Gardens in Pekin.

Memorial contributions may be made to First Christian Church, 1201 Chestnut Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com