He was born December 9, 1957 in Detroit, MI to William and Mary (Mantos) Sheppard. He married Ilene (Simons) Johnson August 8, 2013 in Peoria. She survives.
Also surviving are his two sons, Michael (Bridgette) Sheppard of Pleasant Plains, IL and Timothy Sheppard of Champaign; two sisters, Destiny Robertson of Normal and Sally (Kirk) Janssen of Bloomington; three grandchildren, Landon, Killian and Brooke Sheppard; and four step-children, Jason, Christopher (Brianne), Alesha and Stephanie Johnson.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Mark graduated from Illinois State University and worked as an Engineer for the Solae/Dupont Company in Gibson City until retiring in 2014. He was a member of the AMA, Peoria Motorcycle Club, Cubs Boosters, and raced all throughout the Midwest. Mark was a lifelong Cubs fan and loved to restore old cars and motorcycles to resell.
Cremation will be accorded and a celebration of life will be Friday, September 20, 2019 from 4 PM to 7 PM at Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel in Peoria. Burial of the urn will be at a later date at Springdale Cemetery in Peoria.
Memorials may be made to the Central Illinois Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Words of comfort can be shared with the family at www.davison-fulton.com.