Longtime Sandy resident and former business owner, Glenn William Sheppard died at his home on January 19, 2011. He was 88.
A funeral service will be held in the chapel of Sandy Funeral Home on Tuesday January 25, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. A visitation will occur prior to the service starting at noon. Burial will follow the service at Sandy Ridge Cemetery in Boring.
Glenn William Sheppard Sr. was born on March 10, 1922 in Salem to Fred and Mae T. (Weatherill) Sheppard. At a young age Glenn’s father died. His mother later re-married and the family moved to Hawkinson, Washington where Glenn was raised and received his schooling. In his late teen’s, Glenn went to worked at a CCC camp in Washington. At the age of 20, he entered the Navy on May 20, 1942. He served for over three years and was honorably discharged on October 11, 1945. Glenn then moved to Sandy where he began working for Duane Knapp falling timber, building roads and driving logging trucks.
On June 30, 1947, he was united in marriage to Loretta Newman in Kalispel, Montana. They made their home in Sandy where Glenn later started his own excavating company. He was involved in site preparation for many places in the Sandy, Mt. Hood, Portland, Estacada and Corbett areas including: Ski Bowl at Government Camp, the Industrial Area along highway 26 where Suburban Chevrolet, Ford and the professional buildings are, the Sandy High School Baseball field and the neighborhood where the current Sandy Post Office is located. He also excavated for the Heritage Square area in downtown Sandy taking down the old Clackamas County Bank building. He also worked on the White River flood area and cleared land at Oral Hull for the Garden of Enchantment. These are just a few of the places Glenn “played in the dirt”. There are many more locations where he used his talents to “pave the way” for new homes and businesses. He was exceptionally talented at excavating and grading and could level a lot without “shooting” it.
Loretta preceded Glenn in death on April 6, 1993. Six years later, Glenn married Phyllis Rader on August 22, 1998 in Portland. They made their home in Sandy.
Glenn had a great love for his family and his career. He had a gracious heart for helping others. He also enjoyed working jigsaw puzzles, watching sports on T.V. along with Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
Surviving is his wife Phyllis; daughter Rita Johnson and son Glenn Jr. both of Sandy; step-daughters Dee Ann Price of Kennewick, WA, Terri Anderson of Sandy, Wendy Carter of Oregon City; 9 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren.