Richard Leon "Butch" Shepherd

Richard "Butch" Leon Shepherd, 78, passed through Heaven's gates to enter God's kingdom on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Though you wouldn't see him in church, Scripture lived in his heart and his actions epitomized storing treasures where moth and rust cannot destroy. In his final weeks, he often spoke of "going home," where he now has much-deserved eternal rest. Service and burial will be at 11 a.m., Monday, April 21, 2025, at Kansas Veterans' Cemetery in Winfield.
Butch was born March 2, 1947, in Manhattan to George and Carolyn (Moorman) Shepherd. As a young boy, he lived in Keats, where his family ran a local store. Other boyhood homes included Arkansas City and Wichita. After graduating from East High in 1965, he returned to Manhattan where he earned a history degree from Kansas State University, becoming the first in his family to carry the distinction of college graduate.
Butch served as a combat soldier in Vietnam, the shrapnel and memories from which haunted him for the rest of his life. After his tour he returned to Wichita, where he met Dorthy, his bride and life partner of 52 years. He was working as a full-service gas station attendant when the car in which she was riding pulled up to the pump. They went on their first date that night and married seven months later.
Butch worked primarily as a machinist at many of Wichita's storied aircraft manufacturers and several lesser known subcontractors. But his favorite job might have been in retirement. As a school bus driver, he enjoyed driving his grandchildren on their field trips, possibly more than they enjoyed having their Papa as their driver.
Butch was an avid Civil War historian, a voracious reader, loved a good Sudoku puzzle, and enjoyed engaging in political commentary. He had a penchant for letter writing, particularly to regulatory agencies, politicians, or any corporate leader who, in his estimation, was up to no good. He had a reputation for doing the right thing and expecting the same of others, especially those in positions of authority. He wasn't often successful or, as he might put it, he "snatched defeat from the jaws of victory." But never one for athletics, this was his sport. Playing this game brought him as much satisfaction as it did agony. He liked to say, "Keep smiling, it makes them wonder what you're up to!" and suggested more than once that "if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull."
In friends, Butch valued quality over quantity. He didn't have many but he'd "charge the gates of Hell with a bucket of ice water" for them at a moment's notice - especially Bob Jewell, Terry Smith, Doug Wentz, and James Williams. In simpler terms, he liked to be helpful and would offer assistance, without request and sometimes even without invitation. "Ye have not because ye ask not," he'd say, but rarely ever asked for anything himself.
Butch is preceded in death by his parents, George and Carolyn; brother, Charles; and sister, Eilene. He is survived by his wife, Dorthy, and son, Tim (Amber), both of Wichita; and son, Mike (Angie) of Saco, Maine; and five grandchildren, Maddie, Nate, Tommy, Jack, and Claire.
A GoFundMe has been established to help defray funeral-related expenses. Donations can be made at https://gofund.me/8c3fddb8. Services in care of Downing & Lahey Mortuary - West Chapel.