Fern Olive Shepard

Fern Olive Shepard, 87, passed away Aug. 9, 2012 at The Cottages in Payette. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Aug. 17th at Shaffer-Jensen Memory Chapel, Payette. She has requested casual dress and that her life be celebrated for it was long and good. Cremation and services are under the direction of Shaffer-Jensen Memory Chapel, Payette. Condolences may be to Fern's family at www.shaffer-jenenchapel.com. She was born Feb. 1, 1925 in Dickinson, ND to Art and Vina Zabel. She was the youngest of five children and grew up on the family farm. Hard work and doing the best with what they had was the model for Fern's entire life. Her father may have had the dog for a pet, but Fern and her brother Dave had piglets, skunks and crows for theirs. While a child, a car accident caused her to loose most of her vision in one eye. To help with her recovery, she was given a set of wooden furniture for a doll house. She treasured that furniture set and passed it on to her granddaughter, Jody. To go with her furniture set, Fern would cut paper dolls out of the mail order catalogs. Her favorite was a handsome man in a sailor suit that she named "Jack". After graduating high school during World War II, she went to live in Longview, WA with her sister Mildred. There, she worked at a saw mill pulling lumber off the green chain. One day, she met a handsome young sailor named Jack, who was on temporary duty in Astoria. They were married in 1945 and began a family. They lived for a while in Dickinson but the North Dakota winters were too cold for Jack. After working at the Grand Coulee dam, they moved to Payette, ID. There they started their own business, Jack Shepard Custom Rawhide. Fern kept the books and braided rawhide and ran the home. Their business stayed small but with hard work and attention to detail, together they made the name of Jack Shepard a standard of quality still used in describing well-made rawhide products. Fern and Jack worked hard and enjoyed fishing, hunting and trips to North Dakota, Nebraska and the Oregon Coast with their fifth wheel trailer. Jack died in 2007. Living alone with her best friend Benji, a Pug dog, Fern found much to keep her busy, working on scrapbooks, church, friends, sewing and her computer. She soon became an avid Face Book user. A trip to Astoria one summer gave her a chance to once again dip her toes in the Pacific and at 84 years old walk the 164 stairs to the top of the Astoria Column with her daughter in law Jo. The next year was a trip to Anderson Island in Puget Sound. There she discovered her inner child, walking the bay at low tide and digging for moon snails followed by a wonderful supper of barbequed salmon and oysters caught that very day. Thank you so much Carolyn, Dave and Viv! Last year was one of her best trips ever when she went to Spokane to see Jody marry Mike Bonnes in a beautiful ceremony with the Spokane River as a back drop. One of Fern's proudest moments was when she finished her book about Jack and the rawhide business. Fern was preceded in death by her husband Jack and her daughter Linda, her parents and her brothers Matt and Dave, her sisters Edna and Mildred. She is survived by her sons Dave and his wife Kim Oanh, of Seattle and Dan and his wife Jo Nell, of Payette. The family is grateful for the fine care of the wonderful ladies at The Cottages. We also want to express our deep appreciation for the friendship of Kirby Orme. Fern is again with Jack and Linda and I have no doubt she will be there to welcome each of us in our time.
Memorials may be made to Payette Partners Rescue Ranch c/o Shaffer-Jensen Memory Chapel, P.O. Box 730, Payette, ID 83661.

Service Details.

Service

When: Friday, August 17th, 2012
Location: Funeral Home
Address: