Col. (Ret) Orval H. Sheppard

Sorrells Funeral Home of Enterprise

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Posted by: Sorrells Funeral Home
[email protected]
(334) 347-9598
Date: Jul 28 2012 2:42 PM

Sorrells Funeral Home

4550 Boll Weevil Circle

Enterprise, Alabama 36330

 

               Col. (Ret) Orval Hubertus Sheppard of Enterprise passed away quietly in his home surrounded by loved ones and friends on Friday, July 27, 2012. He was 93.

              Col. Sheppard was born 29 Jan 1919 in Ash Flat, Arkansas to Isophene Eva and Lotus J. Sheppard.  At the age of four he and his family moved where work could be found for his father in the Oklahoma oil fields, eventually finding their way to Seminole, OK, where Orval later graduated high school in ’38.  In 1941 he entered military service, returning to Seminole on leave in ’42 to marry his high school sweetheart, Erma Jean Lackey.  By October of that year Orval was commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant, had completed parachute school, and was assigned to the 456^th Parachute FA Battalion of the 82^nd Airborne Division.  Orval entered the war with his division in North Africa in early ’43, and some months later jumped over Sicily where he and his ten men found themselves landing 15 miles behind enemy lines.  After five tense days his group rejoined American troops suffering only two wounded during contacts with the Germans.  After Sicily Orval participated in Italian landings first at Salerno, then Anzio, and by May ’44 he was in Rome.  After the war he became the Officer in Charge of Parachute Training at Ft. Benning, where his most memorable student was at that time a Col. Named William C. Westmoreland.  By June ’49 Orval was qualified as an Army aviator and soon thereafter was transferred to Germany and assigned as personal pilot for the EUCOM Commanding General.  This was followed by a tour at Ft. Rucker, AL as Commander of the Instrument Division, Instrument Examiner Division, Simulator Division, and Twin Engine Flight Training Division.  After attending various service schools Orval commanded a Helicopter Company in Ft. Benning, GA, then an Aviation Battalion in Korea, then Deputy Director of Ft. Rucker’s Aviation Accident Board as well as serving at the US Army representative to NATO for Army Aircraft Safety.  By late ’64 he was serving as a staff officer in the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  This was followed by command of an Army Aviation Maintenance Brigade at Hunter Army Airfield, followed by his final assignment in ’69 as Director of Test, Aviation Test Board, Ft. Rucker, AL, and ended upon his retirement in July 1970 after roughly 29 years of continuous service.  Col. Sheppard’s military awards include the Master Parachutist Badge, Master Aviator Badge, two Purple Hearts, Legion of Merit, various campaign medals and ribbons, and numerous others.  Following retirement Orval Sheppard pursued a very successful second career as an owner/operator of a real estate business.  He passed away quietly in his home surrounded by loved ones and friends. He was predeceased by his wife of over 66 years, two brothers, Ronnie and Kenneth Sheppard, and one sister, Betty Sheppard Luhr.  He is survived by a son, David, his wife, Suzie, two brothers, Bobby Sheppard and his wife Margaret, Jerry Sheppard and his wife Elaine, four sisters, Donna Sheppard Lighthill and her husband Kenneth, Madge Sheppard Rorie, Kathlene Sheppard Pedri, and Alene Sheppard Sanders, as well as three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, and his very special caregiver Tracy Brown.  His was a life well lived, and he will be missed.             

             Funeral services will be 11:00am Tuesday, July 31, 2012 from the Sorrells Funeral Home Chapel in Enterprise with a military chaplain officiating. Burial with full military honors will follow in the Meadowlawn Cemetery.  The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday beginning at 10:00am and continuing until service time. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to the Alzheimer’s Association, Parkinson’s research or to Covenant Hospice. 

To sign a guest register, please visit www.sorrellsfuneralhomes.com

 

 

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