Edith Vaughn Shepherd

Edith Maude Catharine Vaughn Shepherd passed away December 7, 2016 after a brief illness. A Georgia resident since 1958, Edith spent most of her life in Valdosta, but lived in Atlanta from 1995 until 2006.

Born March 31, 1925 in Shreveport, Louisiana, she was the daughter of Col. Sidney Joseph Vaughn, Sr. and Maude Sterns Watkins Vaughn. Her husband of 34 years, David Brock Shepherd, preceded her in death.

Edith spent 27 years in public relations at Valdosta State University, retiring as the Public Relations Director. Edith was a vibrant member of her communities with a wide range of interests and activities. In Atlanta, she was a parishioner at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Decatur, where she was employed as Parish Administrator, played in the bell choir, coordinated the deaf ministry and served on the flower guild. For many years, she was an active member of Park Avenue United Methodist Church, Valdosta, where she raised her children, before joining Christ Episcopal Church there. At that parish, she mentored incoming Daughters of the King. Edith held membership and many leadership positions in Atlanta Jasmine Garden Club, the DeKalb Federation of Garden Clubs, the Valdosta Holly and Camellia Garden Clubs, and district, state, and national level garden clubs. Edith loved the home of Valdosta Garden Clubs, The Crescent, and was a former member of its board. She was particularly proud of being a Master Flower Show Judge and Certified Garden Consultant and a lifetime member of National Garden Clubs. In recent years, Edith enjoyed membership in the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Daughters of the American Colonists.

Along with her parents and husband, Edith was predeceased by her twin brothers, Sidney Joseph Vaughn, Jr. and Francis John Vaughn. Survivors include her daughters and sons-in-law Sydney Shepherd Cleland (Craig) of Atlanta, Mary Shepherd Kuntz (Charlie) of Valdosta, and Melody Shepherd Marshall (Richard) of Suwanee, Georgia, her grandchildren Maxwell Marshall (Brittany), Cammy Marshall, Lucy Cleland, and Henry Cleland, one great-grandchild, Brecken Marshall, and her sister Martha Vaughn Smith of Hendersonville, North Carolina, a sister-in-law, three nieces, and a nephew.

Her life will be celebrated on Sunday, December 11, at 2 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, Valdosta, with internment in the church's Memorial Garden. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Garden Center, Inc., P. O. Box 2423, Valdosta, Georgia, 31604



Funeral Home:
Carson McLane Funeral Home
2215 North Patterson Street
Valdosta, GA
US 31602