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Christopher Sheppard Obituary

Christopher David
Sheppard

58, railroad engineer, musician, photographer, astronomer, husband, and father, was struck and killed by a train after he was called to perform inspection work for Bay Area Rapid Transit near Walnut Creek, California. Born on December 6, 1954 to Sylvester Thomas Sheppard and Lorraine Cecere in Red Bank, New Jersey, Chris entered the railroad industry as a trackman for Amtrak shortly after his high school graduation. He became an expert in track safety and maintenance, retired from Amtrak as assistant division engineer, and joined BART in 2011. A lifelong self-teacher, Chris filled his home with guitars, gadgets, cameras, and telescopes, and he loved to share what he learned with everyone around him. Chris is survived and loved by his wife, Barbara, his two children, Christopher and Amanda, and his eleven sisters, Patricia Rainville, Sharon Sheppard, Lorraine Sheppard, Sandra Ford, Joanne Rudow, Carolyn Dominguez, Audrey Phillips, and Pamela, Leatrice, Teresa, and Jacklyn Preston, who deeply miss him and his photos of the stars

Christopher will be reposing at the Evergreen Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Service 1735 Rt 35 Middletown, New Jersey 07748 on Saturday October 26, 2013 from 7-9pm and Sunday from 2-5pm. There will be a prayer service on Monday morning at 10am in the Funeral Home. Internment will then take place in Fairview Cemetery in Middletown, New Jersey.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Oct. 24 to Oct. 25, 2013.

Memories and Condolences
for Christopher Sheppard

32 Entries

Jerry Zezas

October 20, 2024

I still think about you often, bud.

Sharon & Ed Guthrie

October 19, 2024

Thinking of you on this day. God Bless

Sharon & Ed Guthrie

October 19, 2023

Always thinking of you at this time of year. Sadly.

Sharon & Ed Guthrie

October 18, 2019

Thinking of you and your family.

Sharon & Ed Guthrie

May 5, 2016

Thinking of you.

Sharon & Ed Guthrie

October 20, 2015

Barbara,
Thinking of you!
Warm Regards,

Sharon & Ed Guthrie

January 19, 2015

Today, we light a candle for Chris. You all are in our thoughts.

Nick Fazio

November 3, 2013

May the Grace of Our Lord grant you eternal peace.
AMEN
... with sincerest condolences,
Nick Fazio (cousin)

Bill Moorhead

November 1, 2013

I first met Chris on Amtrak many years ago on the NEC, then again at the APTA Track ans Noise/Vibration Technical Forum meeting in Houston in October 2012. I had the pleasure of sitting across the table from Chris and his wife Barbara at our APTA group dinner and had a wonderful time reminiscing about colleagues & friends from the "old days" on the NEC. Unfortunately I never saw Chris again, even though we had some e-mail discussions. He impressed me as a very knowledgeable and capable guy, and that opinion is borne out by all who knew him; I wish I'd known him better. My deepest sympathy & condolences to Barbara, the children and all of Chris' family & close friends; he will be greatly missed.

Jennie Pechillo

October 29, 2013

I never met Chris but his Sister Cookie and my Sister Rhonda were very close friends...RIP Chris. Sending Prayers to the Family.

October 29, 2013

Barbara,Chris ,Amanda and family., our deepest sympathy , we are heart broken, and sadden for your loss of our wonderful dear chris. We will keep you and your family in thoughts and prays. God Bless you and your family .We'll always keep him in our hearts We LOVE YOU ALWAYS Fil & Family

Tommy

October 28, 2013

My prayer are with you aunt Barbara,Chris, and Amanda! I am soo sorry for the loss you have all experienced. I will never forget uncle Chris and wish I had spent more time with him! I am here if you need me.

Jerry Miller

October 28, 2013

I had the honor of working with Chris on several of his projects and during the few years I did work with him I felt that we bacame good friends.God bless Chris and his family. I will truely miss him

AREMA 2011

Todd Laudeman

October 28, 2013

Like many others, I first met Chris through his railroad career at Caltrain, then BART. It was probably 5 years after I'd started working with Chris before I got to meet him in person at the AREMA show in Minneapolis in 2011...before that I'd sent him countless emails and had many phone conversations but I'd never experienced his smile, his easy manner or his humor before then. When I heard about the accident, I was stunned and truly felt a 'hole' in my life.

My company is about to do some work with BART and we were all looking forward to working with Chris again.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, near and far. Having just lost my step-son to a motorcycle accident this past June, I can relate to how this kind of passing causes all kinds of questions..."Why?" is the hardest to answer. I can only offer that God works in mysterious ways. Chris's positive impact on everyone he met and his way of making friends and influencing others is a legacy we can all learn from in our grief.

Chris...you are truly missed...and were truly extraordinary!

October 28, 2013

God pls look over there ppl in their time of need! He was a great guy

Secret location that Chris took us to for this shot of Golden Gate.

Gordon Bachinsky

October 27, 2013

Chris sharing his passion for photograhy

Gordon Bachinsky

October 27, 2013

Chris taking photos of Golden Gate

Gordon Bachinsky

October 27, 2013

Thought I would add a couple more photos showing Chris having a good time sharing his love of photography. I will never forget the great day we had together talking passionately about our work in the rail industry as well as taking some great shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. Other photos are in gallery.

Louis Klauder

October 27, 2013

Chris helped me a lot while he was in Amtrak's engineering office in Philadelphia. He was a good friend, and news of his death saddened me greatly.

Chris Sheppard presenting at WRI 2013

Gordon Bachinsky

October 27, 2013

I had the honor of working closely with Chris over the last 5-6 years during his career with Caltrain and BART, and I will never forget what a unique skill he had to be so quiet and non-aggressive, yet somehow he developed strong respect and influence with both his subordinates and superiors. I don't know how he did this! This was especially true at BART, where over just the last two years I saw him make some very impressive progress in moving BART forward to address long-standing concerns about the rail/wheel interface on his system. I am truly convinced that he was leading BART in the right direction towards significant, tangible benefits in important areas such as safety, environmental issues relating to noise and vibration, rail life extension, and noticeable new levels of enthusiasm from the people who worked under him . Something else that Chris was very committed to relates to the massive new car fleet investment that BART is currently in the process of procuring. He was trying very hard to gain a better understanding of overall vehicle/track interaction, and he showed a strong interest in creating closer relationships with other BART groups responsible for vehicle maintenance and new car procurement. Unfortunately, this effort was just starting to make progress when he was tragically taken away from us so suddenly.

In working closely with Chris over the past 18 months, I learned about his passion for photography, including his unique area of interest relating to astronomy. During a visit to BART last July, Chris offered some personal time on a weekend to escort me and a co-worker to take photos of the Golden Gate Bridge. He knew where the “secret” good locations were located, and it was obvious his passion for photography was very high, and similar to the strong dedication to his work.

I will never forget Chris for the great opportunity he gave me and our company to be part of a team (along with Hugh Saurenman) to support BART in their efforts to move forward in providing the residents of the Bay Area with a safer, more efficient transit system. In looking back over the 40 years I have been in the transit and railway industry, I can say without hesitation that Chris was a unique, passionate person who wanted to make a difference to the people and organizations he worked with. To accomplish what he did for BART in such a short time is truly amazing!

We will never forget you Chris, and you can be assured that I (and ARM) will be greatly inspired the rest of my life to help move the industry forward while keeping your memories and vision alive for years to come.

Eileen Fredman

October 26, 2013

My deepest condolences to the family. I never met Christoper however I am sure he was a wonderful person. So sorry for all the pain the family is having now, I will pray for all.

angelina sonnick

October 25, 2013

My deepest condolances to the family and friends of chistopher im so sorry for ur loss.i only had the pleasure of meeting him once but he was a wonderful person and so caring. to the family my deepest condolances i hope in time god can ease the pain that comes with losing a loved one. ps. i am a friend of jackie's

Jerry Zezas

October 25, 2013

I considered him a close friend even though I hadn't seen him in over 20 years. The minute I found out the he had passed, I felt a part of me was missing. At least once a month I thought about how great it would be to fly out and see my old friend, but I always thought I'd have more time to do so.

Virtually all my memories of my teenage years include Chris in one fashion or another. It may seem amazing but he was such a good friend that, even after all these years, I'm truly grieving his loss. I wish Barbara, his children and his sisters peace and comfort in the wake of this tragic, tragic loss to us all.

I can still see him in shoulder-length hair playing his Gibson SG.

October 25, 2013

To the family of Chris please except my deepest sorrow in the lose of this kind and gentle man who so selflessly touch my life.My admiration for him was second to none.He was a leader,teacher and mentor to so many of us at Amtrak and our lives will never be the same.I will never forget you Chris .I will always take what I learned from you as a generous gift of your kindness and willingness to help others. May you rest in peace and may God bless your family and someday ease their sorrow in your lose..

Mike Palumbo. Amtrak Philadelphia

laurie scarano

October 23, 2013

Barbara and children,
We are heart broken for all of you. We are so sorry. We are praying for all of you.
Brent and Laurie and family

Lorelee Martin

October 23, 2013

What a tragic loss. My deepest sympathy and heartfelt prayers to your family and friends. You will always be fondly remembered as such a nice and special person. May you rest in peace always.

Sharon & Ed Guthrie

October 23, 2013

Barbara,
We are so saddened for the loss of dear Chris. We are shedding our tears for you and your children.

We shall remember and talk about the stories he loved to tell - especially about your Corvette.

Gary Noto

October 23, 2013

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

Colleen Ray

October 21, 2013

I am so very sorry for your loss. May God bring comfort and peace to you.

Donna Kelly

October 21, 2013

My prayers are to the family and friends in this tragic accident.

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