Norma J. Shepard

1925 - 2018

Norma J. Shepard

Nashville - Age 92, of Nashville, TN passed away peacefully on April 14, 2018 attended by her son Mark, her granddaughter Hannah, and friends.

She was born Norma Jean Huffman July 13, 1925 in Newton, Iowa. Norma attended elementary and secondary school in Manchester, Tennessee, graduating from Central High School in 1942 at the age of 16, then from Middle Tennessee State College in 1945 with a BS in Chemistry. She attended St. Mary's School of Nursing, adjacent to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, graduating in 1948 in the last class of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps.

After graduation, Norma moved to Nashville in early 1949 to begin work as an RN. In early 1950, she met Lt. David E. Shepard, an Air Force pilot; they were married August 8, 1950. She left the workforce when their son Mark was born in 1953 and for the next 12 years she was a mother and an officer's wife as the Air Force moved the family to various duty stations. When Major Shepard retired in 1964 the family moved back to Nashville.

She resumed nursing in 1965 at Baptist Hospital, advancing to Clinical Supervisor responsible for the Intensive and Coronary Care Units. In 1966, Baptist began design and construction of a new state-of-the-art Coronary Care Unit. Working with Dr. Fred Ownby, Mrs. Shepard took charge of the design of the unit as well as education of its nursing staff in this revolutionary new nursing discipline.

The training program they developed was recognized for its excellence and drew students from all over the country. Mrs. Shepard became the director of the Critical Care Program when it moved to the Middle Tennessee Hospital Association in 1971; it became a continuing education activity in the University of Tennessee system in 1973. By 1996, the UT Critical Care Program had trained over 4000 nurses.

She was instrumental in establishing the professional organization for this new type of nurse, holding organizational meetings in Nashville in 1968. In 1969, the board of the American Association of Cardiovascular Nurses (AACN) met for the first time in Nashville. In 1972 the name was changed from "Cardiovascular" to "Critical-Care" to be more inclusive, and AACN has since become the largest nursing specialty organization with over 115,000 members.

Mrs. Shepard is Founder and a Life Member of AACN. She was nurse editor in 1974 of Heart & Lung, then the scientific journal of AACN and first published in 1972. She was the first non-physician president of the Middle Tennessee Heart Association in 1978 then Chairman of the Board in 1979. She was also a 50-year breast cancer survivor.

Norma and Dave retired together in July of 1987, planning to travel together, but Dave was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died in August. Struggling to adapt to suddenly being at home alone, Mrs. Shepard focused her energies on her church where her leadership skills were welcomed, social activities such as playing bridge, attending the symphony, and gardening-she was a dedicated rosarian cultivating nearly 100 spectacular bushes.

Although Norma accomplished much in her 92 years, she is remembered by those who knew her best for her humanity: the boundless love she shared so abundantly, her tolerance and acceptance of others, her ability to coach from people their absolute best, her grit and determination, and her eternally positive and contagious attitude; she never complained nor criticized. Her attitude permeated every organization she worked in and every person she met. It was why she was so successful in all she did, why so many people wanted to work with her, and why she was so loved by those who had the good fortune to do so.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Daniel Brooks Huffman and Lorene (Bryan) Huffman, her husband, David E. Shepard, and her daughter-in-law Mary Ohlheiser Shepard. She is survived by her son, Mark E. Shepard, and granddaughter, Hannah Ruth Shepard, both of Roanoke, VA.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, July 14, 2018 at Blakemore United Methodist Church in Nashville. The family will receive visitors and celebrate her 93rd birthday on Friday, July 13 between 4 and 8 PM at West Harpeth Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts to Blakemore UMC, Middle Tennessee Heart Association, or Alive Hospice.