Margaret Irene Shepherd

Margaret Irene Shepherd, 71, of Manhattan, passed away unexpectedly Thursday, March 31, 2022.

She was born June 3, 1950 and grew up in Conway Springs, Kansas the daughter of Randall and Dorothy Varenhorst Sneed. She was a graduate of Conway Springs High School and continued her education at Emporia State where she received her Bachelor's Degree and then started her teaching career.

Margaret spent many years teaching in Topeka, Riley, and Iowa before she retired. She would spend the next twenty years in the constant service of her many passions, of which none was greater than family. Margaret was preceded in death by her sister, Beth, of Wichita who was born with cerebral palsy. Margaret's unending care and devotion allowed Beth to live an amazing life decades past what doctors anticipated. Margaret's love and dedication to this cause continues to this day through her support of Young Life's Capernaum Program, helping handicap children find a place with her Lord.

Margaret was devoted to a daily relationship with her children and her seven grandchildren. No request was too large or too small, whether it be a quick trip to Wichita to watch a play, a drive to Topeka for a game, or flight to Florida to see her daughter. To be loved by Margaret was a true gift and she gave generously with a kind word, an unexpected card, special projects, and arts and crafts for each holiday. Perhaps her greatest gift was her unrelenting belief anyone in her orbit was destined for a life of happiness and success. For those of us lucky enough to be in that orbit, we don't think she could have done it any better, and while she left too early it wasn't without preparing all of us to carry on that legacy.

One more passion, almost as intense as her devotion to family, was her love for biking and the incredible friends with whom she shared so many hours, days, and weeks riding all over the country. Margaret had a couple goals she worked toward each year. She successfully rode her age in miles on every birthday, highlighted by her seventieth, where each grandchild rode ten miles alongside her. She was also determined to ride up to 50 miles in every state in the nation and had less than 10 states to go. She will be dearly missed by her friends and fellow cyclists.

Margaret married Michael Edward Shepherd on May 23, 1971 in Wellington, Kansas. He survives in Manhattan. Other survivors include her son, Marc (Liz) Shepherd of Topeka, Matthew (Tara) Shepherd of Wichita and Marci (Robert) Bunn of Gainesville, Florida in addition to her seven grandchildren (Macy, Ryan, Kate, Lucy, Emily, Hope, and Luke) and many "grand" dogs and cats.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Beth.

Honoring Margaret's request, cremation is planned. A Celebration of Life is scheduled for Saturday, April 16, 2022 from 2pm to 4pm at the Sedalia Community Church, 6040 N. 52nd St., Manhattan, KS 66503.

The family respectfully requests no flowers or food, any love and support is welcome as a donation to the Young Life Capernaum Program, 6505 E. Central #318 Wichita, KS 67206 or by visiting http://giving.younglife.org/MargaretShepherdMemorial.

To leave a message of condolence for Margaret's family, or to share a special memory of Margaret, visit the guestbook below.