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Funeral services for 53-year-old Stacy Shepherd of Corning will be 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, at Pearson Family Funeral Service & Cremation Center of Corning. Mr. George Hoerman will officiate. Visitation will be open to the public from 4-8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 27 with the family receiving friends from 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorials may be directed to the Stacy Shepherd Memorial Fund, to be established by the family. Condolences and memories may be shared online at www.pearsonfuneralhomes.com.
Stacy Sue (Shilling) Shepherd blessed this world with her presence on July 2, 1969. She was a blessing brought by God to Donald and Alexis Shilling who adopted Stacy; loving her from the moment they met her. Stacy was raised by her parents in Le Mars.
While living in Le Mars, Stacy took part in many activities and became a friend to everyone she met. Her positive attitude and ability to find the fun in everything helped her to find success throughout her life. Stacy was baptized and confirmed at the St. John Lutheran’s Church. She also participated in cheerleading, band and flag corps while in school. But her favorite thing was hanging out with her friends and being “a little naughty” – something that continued with her Le Mars friends through adulthood.
Stacy attended college at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota. Stacy cherished this time in her life. She pledged and became a sorority sister in Alpha Xi Delta and blossomed in this organization. Being a sorority sister for AZD was one of Stacy’s greatest memories and something she shared with family and friends throughout her life.
Stacy graduated from USD with a degree in education, a factor that would change her life and the lives of thousands of high school and middle school students she met on her career journey. While at USD, Stacy met Brad Nordquist and the two were married and she gave birth to their son Landon.
Stacy and her family moved to several different locations before settling in Shenandoah. In Shenandoah, Stacy continued to teach high school, as well as develop her own Kindermusik classes for children up to 6 years old and Spanish classes for adult professionals. Stacy loved teaching everyone she met – even if it was a stranger at a bar wanting to learn how to ask for a beer in Spanish. That was Stacy.
While in Shenandoah, Stacy met Brett Shepherd. The two of them became fast friends and it was a friendship that quickly blossomed into a love for each other. Stacy and Brett were married in Las Vegas April 7, 2000; becoming a family with Landon and Brett’s daughters Avery and Jaylenne. Stacy and Brett completed the family with the birth of their child Addison. The family found homes in Shenandoah, Mineola, Villisca and finally in Corning.
Stacy cherished her family and spent hours trying to develop games they could play together, creating songs together, listening to music, hanging out in the family pool, visiting local Mexican restaurants and cooking their own Mexican food together. While not every moment of a blended family was perfect, Stacy always had the best interests of everyone else in mind and found ways to make each person feel special individually.
Outside of the time with the entire family, Stacy enjoyed her time together with Brett – playing countless rounds of golf, singing karaoke (to sometimes embarrass Brett), arguing on whether or not a haiku is a poem, sitting on the front porch with their kitten Honey and just going on “a drive” to enjoy each other’s company and watch the sun set on the day – two best friends just being the best of friends.
Stacy’s second love was her teaching of high school Spanish. She finished her career at Creston High School in Creston. Stacy felt blessed being a teacher in this school. She loved her students, co-workers and the high school administrative staff. She was known by the name “Sra” throughout the halls of CHS, and Stacy loved knowing she made a difference in the lives of so many young men and women. “I liked seeing their smiles when they walk into the classroom because they were excited to be there,” she said.
Reluctantly, Stacy had to retire early from teaching in March 2022 due to her ongoing battle with bile duct cancer. Stacy continued to battle this disease with strength and dignity and made people stronger because of the strength she demonstrated. Stacy was a beautiful person on the inside and out and she will be missed by everyone who had the privilege of meeting her.
Stacy passed away in her home Jan. 20, 2023. She was smiling and at peace.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Don and Lexi Shilling; her brother, Tyler Shilling; her uncle, Jack Shilling and her cousin, Quint Shilling.
Those remaining to cherish her memory include her husband, Brett Shepherd of Corning; her children: Avery Shepherd of Shenandoah, Jaylenne Shepherd of Clarinda, Landon Nordquist of Kansas City, and Addison Shepherd of Corning; her grandchildren: Cali, Jaxson, Zach and Colin; her grandmother, Joyce Shilling of Tabor; her stepmother, Barb Shilling and daughter Lindsey Shilling of Le Mars; her mother-in-law, Pamela Antons and her husband, Bill of Wyoming; brothers-in-law: Tony Shepherd and wife Misty, Nick Shepherd and his wife Beth; sisters-in-law: Kristi Vance and her husband Tony, Julie Kaufman and her husband Tom, Barb Swanson and her husband Pat; and her mother-in-law, Marsha Shepherd of Villisca.