Keith Sheppard

Keith Sheppard, 76, of St. Joseph passed away on Friday, April 21, 2023, at his home surrounded by his loving family.

A celebration of life service will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, at Fairplain Presbyterian Church, 210 W. Napier Ave., Benton Harbor, with the Rev. Sheth LaRue officiating.

Memorial donations in Keith's name may be made to Fairplain Presbyterian Church or Caring Circle of Corewell Lakeland Health, St. Joseph. Those wishing to sign Keith's memory book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.

Keith was born on Jan. 16, 1947, in Fort Wayne, Ind., to Rigdon "Bill" and Catherine "Kitty" (Stahlhut) Sheppard.

His parents operated Sheppard's Restaurant in Ligonier, Inc., and Keith became very close to the family nanny, Alta Purdy.

He graduated from Ligonier High School Class of 1965 and from Ball State University in 1969 with a bachelor's degree.

During high school in driver's education class, he met a young lady by the name of Sondra Kay Hare, who became his high school sweetheart, and on June 7, 1969, in Ligonier, became Mrs. Keith Sheppard.

Keith and Sondra moved to Benton Harbor when Keith gained employment in 1969 with K-Mart Corp., first on Riverview Drive, and then moving to the Pipestone Road location, leaving in 1974. For 10 years, Keith worked as dispatch/delivery coordinator for The Herald-Palladium before opening his own remodeling/construction company – KAS Remodeling, which he operated until his retirement in 2009.

Keith was a member of Fairplain Presbyterian Church where he served on the Board of Elders, volunteered with the building and grounds maintenance and sang in the choir. He was a member of the Delta XI Chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity. In his free time, Keith enjoyed fishing along the St. Joseph River, small game hunting, his weekend retreat at Yogi Bear Camp, traveling across the U.S. with Sondra, and most of all the time spent with his family.

Keith is survived by his wife, Sondra; his son William "Bill" (Hope) Sheppard of St. Joseph; five grandchildren: Grace McCuddy, Justin McCuddy, Robert (Cheyenne Rau) Sheppard, Claudia and Isabella Sheppard; three great-grandchildren: Athena Louise Baker, Tyler Jacob McCuddy and Keith William Sheppard; and sisters: Lorene (David) Ballee of Mentor, Ohio, Leileni Miller of Elkhart, Ind., Billie Sheppard of Muncie, Ind., Patti Sheppard of Ligonier; sister-in-law, Marsha Sheppard of Fort Wayne, Ind., and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Ronald Sheppard, his brother-in-law Wes Miller, and his nanny, Alta Purdy.