Jennifer Shepherd

In Loving Memory of Jennifer Shepherd, 1983 - 2023

Jennifer "Jenn" Shepherd, beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter, and friend passed away peacefully at home in Orlando on July 21, 2023 after a courageous 4 year battle with Glioblastoma.

Jenn was born on Labor Day September 5th 1983 in Columbia, SC. A person of many talents and passions, Jenn graduated Winter Park High School and went on to receive both her Undergraduate and Masters Degrees from the University of Central Florida. Her ambitions led her to earn her Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from University of La Verne in 2017. In 2018, Jenn completed her Yoga Instructor Certification and immediately saw the connection between yoga and her experience working in management. This led her to found Rising Lotus Leadership. She was passionate about helping people rise to their fullest leadership potential and sought to combine the foundations of leadership with the wisdom of yoga.

Beyond Jenn's professional and educational achievements, she lived life with a hunger for learning, traveling, connecting with people and all the experiences she could fit into her life as if she knew it would be too short. She traveled as much as possible and particularly enjoyed traveling for yoga retreats and for the beaches of Hawaii. She lived in Orlando, Austin, Southern California and Nashville; gathering her family of cherished lifelong friends along the way. Her warm smile, contagious laugh, and genuine interest in others made her a trusted confidant to many.

Some of Jennifer's favorite things were reading, travel, yoga, giraffes, wine, tacos, photography, and beaches. Her life defined her, not her death. She had no control over the length of her life, but its width and depth she chose to make as full as possible.

Jennifer leaves behind a memory of love, compassion, creativity, adventure, and service. She is survived by her mom, Lisa; brother, Jason; stepdad, Bill, step siblings, Will, Jennifer and Michelle; and grandparents, Karen and Conley. Her beloved dog Theo crossed the rainbow bridge on July 31, following his mom to the next adventure.

A memorial service to celebrate Jenn's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Jenn requested that donations be made to advance brain tumor research.

Love is immortal.