Marie Shepard
September 20, 1921 — March 13, 2018
ELEANOR MARIE SHEPARD
Eleanor “Marie” Shepard, 96, of Boynton Beach, Florida and New York, New York, a pillar of the Boynton community, died peacefully on March 13, 2018, at her home in Boynton Beach.
Marie was born in West Palm Beach on September 20, 1921 to Alfred Clayton Shepard and Mary Annie Streater Shepard. Along with her sister, Margaret and brother Clayton, she grew up in Boynton. Marie graduated from Boynton High School in 1939. After attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, she moved to New York City, to live and work for thirty years as an executive secretary at White & Case, a premier international law firm.
Marie moved to New York City from small town Boynton in 1945 and began working with children in the tenement housing on the Lower East Side. She then secured a job as a secretary at the White & Case Law firm where she rose to executive secretary and ultimately head of the secretary pool. Spending over thirty years in New York City, she worked very hard, supported herself and took advantage of all the performing and visual arts that New York had to offer: Theatre, Opera, Ballet, and Art. Marie especially enjoyed the Metropolitan Opera and became a staunch supporter throughout her life. Marie also loved going to all of the well-known museums in New York such as the Metropolitan, the Museum of Natural History, and the MOMA. Marie was also a longtime and faithful member of the Methodist Church: Christ Church in Manhattan and the First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach. Marie was a longstanding member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) which supports education for women. Marie also really enjoyed travelling. She traveled across the United States by car with her mother and her sister in 1949 and visited Europe several times.
Being an integral part of the Boynton community is one of the main things Marie will be remembered for. She was declared the healthiest baby in Palm Beach County in 1921. She grew up on First Avenue where the current Police Station is located. Her father, a pharmacist by education, ran a nursery of plants near the intracoastal waterway and her mother was a school teacher at the Boynton elementary school. Her father died in 1932, when she was eleven, leaving her mother alone to raise her along with her younger sister, and older brother in the throes of the Great Depression. She attended Florida Southern College which she continued to support throughout her life and in 1997 was granted the Alumni Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Service to Humanity.
Returning to Boynton in 1976, Marie made significant contributions to the preservation of the town’s history. She recalled interesting events and people of her life in wonderful narrative form. Marie was one of the most valuable and successful Presidents of the Boynton Woman’s Club and had a reputation of being the go-to person if smart, practical common sense was needed. As President of the Woman’s Club Historic Preservation Foundation, she was a key player in securing funds from the Florida State Government as well as private donations in restoring the Mizner building to its original status. She also worked diligently as part of the Boynton Historic Society in preserving the Boynton High School and Elementary school (now the Museum school). The town of Boynton even declared a day in her honor: Marie Shepard Day which is October 17.
In addition to giving back to her community, Marie was extremely close with and a vital part of her extended family. She took care of her mother and two cousins in their late stages of life. Marie was also close with her siblings, their spouses, nieces, nephews as well as great-nieces and nephews and was always interested in and supportive of their various activities.
Marie is preceded in death by her parents, Annie and Alfred C. Shepard, brother, Alfred Clayton Shepard, and sister, Margaret Shepard Brown.
Marie is survived by her seven nieces and nephews: Mark Shepard, Craig Shepard, Terry Brown, Amy Brown, Nancy Kauffman, Janet Helm, Anne Marie Schur. She is also survived by ten great-nieces and nephews.
The family wishes to extend their sincere appreciation to Marie’s caregivers, Bernadette Dulyx and Evelyne Legere; two sisters who provided Marie with the best possible care and love over the past ten years. Their consistent and steadfast support of Marie’s well-being will always be remembered with deep gratitude.
A funeral service will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at 11o’clock in the morning with Pastor Matthew White officiating. All family and friends are welcome to attend a reception immediately following the service in the Fellowship Hall. A Committal Service and burial will follow at Boynton Beach Memorial Park. Scobee-Combs-Bowden Funeral Home of Boynton Beach is handling the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach, 101 North Seacrest Boulevard, Boynton Beach, FL 33435; Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801; P.E.O. Foundation, 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312; The Boynton Woman’s Club, P.O. Box 1135, Boynton Beach Fl 33425; or the Boynton Historical Society, P.O. Box 12, Boynton Beach, FL 33425-0012.
Eleanor “Marie” Shepard, 96, of Boynton Beach, Florida and New York, New York, a pillar of the Boynton community, died peacefully on March 13, 2018, at her home in Boynton Beach.
Marie was born in West Palm Beach on September 20, 1921 to Alfred Clayton Shepard and Mary Annie Streater Shepard. Along with her sister, Margaret and brother Clayton, she grew up in Boynton. Marie graduated from Boynton High School in 1939. After attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, she moved to New York City, to live and work for thirty years as an executive secretary at White & Case, a premier international law firm.
Marie moved to New York City from small town Boynton in 1945 and began working with children in the tenement housing on the Lower East Side. She then secured a job as a secretary at the White & Case Law firm where she rose to executive secretary and ultimately head of the secretary pool. Spending over thirty years in New York City, she worked very hard, supported herself and took advantage of all the performing and visual arts that New York had to offer: Theatre, Opera, Ballet, and Art. Marie especially enjoyed the Metropolitan Opera and became a staunch supporter throughout her life. Marie also loved going to all of the well-known museums in New York such as the Metropolitan, the Museum of Natural History, and the MOMA. Marie was also a longtime and faithful member of the Methodist Church: Christ Church in Manhattan and the First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach. Marie was a longstanding member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) which supports education for women. Marie also really enjoyed travelling. She traveled across the United States by car with her mother and her sister in 1949 and visited Europe several times.
Being an integral part of the Boynton community is one of the main things Marie will be remembered for. She was declared the healthiest baby in Palm Beach County in 1921. She grew up on First Avenue where the current Police Station is located. Her father, a pharmacist by education, ran a nursery of plants near the intracoastal waterway and her mother was a school teacher at the Boynton elementary school. Her father died in 1932, when she was eleven, leaving her mother alone to raise her along with her younger sister, and older brother in the throes of the Great Depression. She attended Florida Southern College which she continued to support throughout her life and in 1997 was granted the Alumni Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Service to Humanity.
Returning to Boynton in 1976, Marie made significant contributions to the preservation of the town’s history. She recalled interesting events and people of her life in wonderful narrative form. Marie was one of the most valuable and successful Presidents of the Boynton Woman’s Club and had a reputation of being the go-to person if smart, practical common sense was needed. As President of the Woman’s Club Historic Preservation Foundation, she was a key player in securing funds from the Florida State Government as well as private donations in restoring the Mizner building to its original status. She also worked diligently as part of the Boynton Historic Society in preserving the Boynton High School and Elementary school (now the Museum school). The town of Boynton even declared a day in her honor: Marie Shepard Day which is October 17.
In addition to giving back to her community, Marie was extremely close with and a vital part of her extended family. She took care of her mother and two cousins in their late stages of life. Marie was also close with her siblings, their spouses, nieces, nephews as well as great-nieces and nephews and was always interested in and supportive of their various activities.
Marie is preceded in death by her parents, Annie and Alfred C. Shepard, brother, Alfred Clayton Shepard, and sister, Margaret Shepard Brown.
Marie is survived by her seven nieces and nephews: Mark Shepard, Craig Shepard, Terry Brown, Amy Brown, Nancy Kauffman, Janet Helm, Anne Marie Schur. She is also survived by ten great-nieces and nephews.
The family wishes to extend their sincere appreciation to Marie’s caregivers, Bernadette Dulyx and Evelyne Legere; two sisters who provided Marie with the best possible care and love over the past ten years. Their consistent and steadfast support of Marie’s well-being will always be remembered with deep gratitude.
A funeral service will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at 11o’clock in the morning with Pastor Matthew White officiating. All family and friends are welcome to attend a reception immediately following the service in the Fellowship Hall. A Committal Service and burial will follow at Boynton Beach Memorial Park. Scobee-Combs-Bowden Funeral Home of Boynton Beach is handling the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach, 101 North Seacrest Boulevard, Boynton Beach, FL 33435; Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801; P.E.O. Foundation, 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312; The Boynton Woman’s Club, P.O. Box 1135, Boynton Beach Fl 33425; or the Boynton Historical Society, P.O. Box 12, Boynton Beach, FL 33425-0012.
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