Ronald E. Shepherd

1930 - 2026

Kirksville, Mo. - Ronald Eugene Shepherd, 95, of Kirksville, Mo., passed away Saturday (Jan. 31, 2026) at the University of Missouri Hospital, Columbia, Mo.

Funeral services will be on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. at River Valley Church of Christ (RVCC), Fisher, with Pastor Jon Scott of RVCC officiating. Visitation will be at RVCC at 1 p.m. with services to follow at 2 p.m. Memorials have been established for RVCC. Burial will be in Willowbrook Cemetery, Fisher. A celebration-of-life service will be held at a later date in Lancaster, Mo.

Arrangements are under the direction of Norman Funeral Home, Lancaster, and Rosenbaum Funeral Home, Gibson City. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at normanfh.com or rosenbaumfh.com.

The son of Eugene Early Shepherd Jr. and Velma Ruth (Gingerich) Shepherd, he was born on Dec. 11, 1930, in Kirksville. He was a graduate of Lancaster High School in Lancaster. Following his graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. During his time in the service, he served in the Korean War, from which he retired in 1954. He later joined the Air National Guard, from which he retired as a senior master sergeant (E7). He also worked as a civil-service instructor at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul as a jet engine accident investigator for 30-35 years, going all over the U.S. and some foreign countries with his work.

He was united in marriage to Helen Kerby on July 4, 1951, at Lancaster Christian Church in Lancaster, and to this union three children were born, Nicholas, Paul and Rhonda.

Ronnie is survived by his children, Nicholas Shepherd and wife Laura of Harlington, Texas, Paul Shepherd and wife Valerie of Fisher and Rhonda Keith and husband John of Fisher; nine grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; one brother, Doug Shepherd and wife Lisa of Lancaster; one sister, Tamara Gore of Lancaster; and one brother-in-law, Harold (Bud) Kerby of Burlington, Ala.