Obituary for Douglas H. Shepard
Douglas H. Shepard, Professor Emeritus of English at SUNY Fredonia, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Brooks Memorial Hospital after suffering a stroke the prior week. Doug was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on December 6, 1927. He met his future wife, Winifred Odes, when they were both students at Midwood High School. He served in the U.S. Navy in WWII and he and Winnie were married in September 1950. They both obtained their PhDs at the University of Iowa and then moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where Doug taught for seven years until the family moved to Fredonia in 1962.
Doug taught at SUNY Fredonia until his retirement in 1985. He became a noted figure in local history research, providing much of the historical information required for the restoration of the Fredonia Opera House and more recently helping to develop a database of local abolitionists and members of the Underground Railroad. Readers can find an extensive collection of his writings on the website of the Chautauqua County Historian and in the Darwin Barker Historical Museum. Where else can one learn about the origin of doughnuts and early Fredonian Zattu Cushing providing some to a hungry family fleeing the Battle of Buffalo in the War of 1812, or Mark Twain’s sojurns in Fredonia, or why wood ash and whiskey were some of the earliest commercial products in the area? In 2011 Doug became the first recipient of the Elial T. Foote Award, established to recognize outstanding contributions in research, preservation and dissemination of Chautauqua County's history. Doug was also known locally for his devotion to gardening and for making or fixing many items for friends and neighbors, thanks to the wonderfully equipped workshop he built up in his barn.
Winnie passed away in 2016. Doug is survived by: his children, Michael and Allyson; his grandchildren: Meredith, Finnegan and Mark; his great-grandson, Adrian; as well as by his brother, Robert H. Shepard and step-brother, Richard Shepard.
The family thanks the team at Brooks Memorial Hospital for the compassionate care they provided to Doug in his final days and the crew at Fredonia Place who watched over him so kindly during the past two years. A memorial gathering will be announced in the months to come, once COVID recedes. The family asks that donations in Doug’s name be made to the Darwin R. Barker Historical Museum or the Fredonia Opera House. On-line condolences may be made at larsontimkofuneralhome.com. Arrangements by David J. Dengler, LARSON-TIMKO Funeral Home.
Doug taught at SUNY Fredonia until his retirement in 1985. He became a noted figure in local history research, providing much of the historical information required for the restoration of the Fredonia Opera House and more recently helping to develop a database of local abolitionists and members of the Underground Railroad. Readers can find an extensive collection of his writings on the website of the Chautauqua County Historian and in the Darwin Barker Historical Museum. Where else can one learn about the origin of doughnuts and early Fredonian Zattu Cushing providing some to a hungry family fleeing the Battle of Buffalo in the War of 1812, or Mark Twain’s sojurns in Fredonia, or why wood ash and whiskey were some of the earliest commercial products in the area? In 2011 Doug became the first recipient of the Elial T. Foote Award, established to recognize outstanding contributions in research, preservation and dissemination of Chautauqua County's history. Doug was also known locally for his devotion to gardening and for making or fixing many items for friends and neighbors, thanks to the wonderfully equipped workshop he built up in his barn.
Winnie passed away in 2016. Doug is survived by: his children, Michael and Allyson; his grandchildren: Meredith, Finnegan and Mark; his great-grandson, Adrian; as well as by his brother, Robert H. Shepard and step-brother, Richard Shepard.
The family thanks the team at Brooks Memorial Hospital for the compassionate care they provided to Doug in his final days and the crew at Fredonia Place who watched over him so kindly during the past two years. A memorial gathering will be announced in the months to come, once COVID recedes. The family asks that donations in Doug’s name be made to the Darwin R. Barker Historical Museum or the Fredonia Opera House. On-line condolences may be made at larsontimkofuneralhome.com. Arrangements by David J. Dengler, LARSON-TIMKO Funeral Home.