Alston Cannon Shepherd

Alston Cannon Shepherd was born March 14, 1944, in Tuscaloosa and was called home by his Lord and Savior on January 3, 2025. Services will be at 2:00 PM on Saturday, January 11, 2025 with Dr. Herb Thomas officiating and burial to follow at Evergreen City Cemetery. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service.
He is preceded in death by his father, Joseph Henry Shepherd; mother, Dorothy "Mama Dot" Dugins Shepherd; and brother, Joseph Neville Shepherd of Anniston, AL.
He is survived by his spouse, Mildred Ann Geesling; daughters, Susan Davis Patterson (Kirk) of Northport, AL and Melissa McElroy Newport (Monty) of Auburn, AL; sons, Alston Stephen "Steve" Shepherd (Angie) of Tuscaloosa, AL and Marty McElroy of Tuscaloosa, AL; sister, Louise Shepherd Waldrop (Ronald) of Northport, AL; grandchildren, Randy Shepherd, Taylor Strickland (Josh), Kelsey Ingram (Hunter), Kaitlyn Sutton (Adam), Karsen Davis (Ross), Ansley Bost (Matt), and Madison McElroy; and ten great-grandchildren that he dearly loved and enjoyed.
He graduated from Tuscaloosa High School in 1963 and went on to graduate from the University of Alabama in August of 1967 with a bachelor's degree in accounting. During the summers of 1961-1964 he worked with Gulf States Paper which provided good pay but hard work. He decided swinging an ax for eight hours a day would keep him in good physical condition but wasn't something he wanted to do for the next 30 years. In the summer of 1962, he decided going to college and getting better educated would without a doubt make for a better future.
Alston worked almost ten years on the accounting staff with the University of Alabama. In addition to his regular duties of analyzing and producing financial statements, he taught a couple of accounting classes and served as a guest speaker on accounting principles at the Alabama Law School. Alston began working with the Geological Survey of Alabama and the State Oil and Gas Board in August of 1978 and retired as the Chief Fiscal Officer of the two agencies in September of 1998.
Alston spent much of his retirement as a caretaker of his estate on Lake Tuscaloosa and traveling. He looked forward to just being outside riding his 4-wheeler, walking amongst trees, reading devotionals, boating, target shooting, and working with tools in his shop.
While we lost our daddy, many have lost a friend and loved one in him. He has been an animal and plant loving, hummingbird enthusiast, and determined to finish what he started kind of guy. His earthly duty was to attempt to feed ALL of God's creatures regardless of his personal safety. He could fix and do about anything or so he thought. HA! Most of all he enjoyed spending time with his family and was the best dad to his pup, LULU.
His parting thoughts and advise for youngsters is to figure out what you want to do in life, get educated, be a good citizen-no short cuts, go to church and be good to others, and believe in the Lord. There is no way that you can get through the obstacles within this world and progress into the next without a little help and using the life experiences the good Lord will provide for you.
Pallbearers are Randy Shepherd, Jon Winstead, David Winstead, Hunter Ingram, Adam Sutton, and Ross Springer.
Honorary pallbearers are Dr. Joseph Shepherd, Jr., Dr. John Dubay and medical team, Dr. Sarah Bateni and medical team, Beth Simmons, Jennifer Marlow, Sandra Strickland, Mary Smith, Latrelle Halum, Cedrick Stewart, Jackie Saxton, Yvette Moore, Renata France, Dr. David Williams, and members of Circlewood Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations are suggested to Parkinson's Foundation, Circlewood Baptist Church, or Hospice of West Alabama.