John Terry Sheppard, Sr., age 85, passed away on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. He was born in Blytheville, Arkansas on February 7, 1939. He attended the two-room Clear Lake Elementary School for six years, and was a 1956 graduate of Blytheville High School. He has been a resident of Central Texas in the Killeen / Belton area since 1975.
Mr. Sheppard was married for over 65 years to Francella (Meacham) Sheppard who passed away on June 11, 2023. He is survived by one son, John Terry Sheppard, Jr., of Harker Heights, Texas; his Grandchildren, Savannah Lynn Sheppard, John Terry (Trey) Sheppard, III, Bradi Abernathy, Haley Moreno, and Brittany Hawkins, all of Central Texas.
Mr. Sheppard served over twenty-four years in the United States Army, attaining the rank of Chief Warrant Officer (W-4). His awards and decorations included three Meritorious Service Medals and Legion of Merit. The majority of his service was with the Army Security Agency with overseas assignments in Hawaii, Germany, and Turkey. His final assignment was with the Army Security Agency Field Station in San Antonio with duty station at Fort Hood with the Test and Experimentation Command (TEXCOM), later renamed the Operational Test Command.
Mr. Sheppard worked at West Fort Hood for MASSTER, TCATA, TEXCOM, and the Operational Test Command for almost 40 years while in the U.S. Army, Civil Service and as a government contractor. He participated in numerous tests and exercises and was instrumental in the design of special projects integrating national level intelligence sensors into the operation of tactical forces; automated intelligence processing; the design and programming of software in support of computer simulation hardware and software systems; and managed the top level security testing and accreditation of hardware and software systems used in support of simulation design, programming, configuration, and operation. He also traveled overseas to Germany, Korea, England, and Scotland in support of testing and exercises.
Mr. Sheppard retired from the U.S. Civil Service as a GS 13 and was awarded the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Performance Award for 22 years of service.
Mr. Sheppard's civilian education included a Bachelor's Degree from Chaminade College in Honolulu, A Master's Degree in Business Management from the University of Arkansas, and a Master's Degree in Computer Science from American Technological University (ATU) in Killeen. He also attended Central Texas College studying Computer Science and was a charter member of the Epsilon Delta Pi computer science honor society. He also taught evening Economics courses at ATU.
Mr. Shepard volunteered extensively with the PTA in elementary school, treasurer of the PTA at Nolanville Elementary; editor of the school yearbook, and was selected as Senior Volunteer of the Year for the Killeen Independent School District and was awarded life-time honorary membership in the PTA.
His hobby was sailing at Stillhouse Hollow Lake for about 25 years with sailboats including North American Spirit 23, Catalina 25, Hunter 28.5, and Sunfish. He was a member of the Stillhouse Hollow Sailing Club
A graveside services for John will be held Wednesday, June 5, 2024 at 3:00 PM at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery with Full Military Honors.
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