Johnny Mack Shephard

Funeral services for Johnny Mack Shephard, 55, Arapaho resident, will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Clinton First United Methodist Church, officiated  by Rev. Dwight Shephard and Rev. Roland Youngberg. Burial will follow in the Arapaho Cemetery.
Shephard died Friday, May 16, 2014, in the Integris Baptist Hospital in Oklahoma City. He was born Nov. 11, 1958 in Clinton, the son of George Robert and Bess (Roush) Shephard.
Shephard was raised in Arapaho and graduated from Arapaho High School in 1977.  He was active in sports, playing baseball, basketball and was most active with Future Farmers of America.
He received the prestigious Oklahoma State FFA Degree and American Farmers Degree.
He married the former Sherre Evans on July 3, 1982 in Clinton. He continued farming with his father, George Robert Shephard, and farmed until 1985.
He was always interested in flying and obtained his pilot’s license and FAA Airmen Certification at a very young age. He then went to work as a pilot for Eastern Airlines in 1989 until its demise in 1991.
He then became a pilot for International Cargo Airlines Evergreen International.
After a brief stint there he joined other airlines until he went to work for Kalitta Air in the mid 1990’s. He worked there until his death, earning status as one of Kalitta’s most senior captains and flying to seemingly every allowable location in the world.
He was recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with inclusion in the prestigious FAA Airmen Certification.
Preceding him in death were his father, George Robert Shephard, and a brother, Harold Glenn Shephard.
Survivors include a son, Eric Shephard and his wife, Rachel, of Edmond; two daughters, Jordan Parman and her husband, Ryan, of Elk City and Allison Corson Webber, of Charlotte, N.C.; his mother, Bess Shephard of Arapaho; a sister, Connie Randol and her husband, Mark, of Weatherford; two grandchildren, Paxton Lee Shephard and Peyton Ann Shephard; five nieces and nephews; and 11 great-nieces and nephews.
The family will greet guests at the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home in Clinton from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. today.