Grant E. Shepard

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Military Service
War: WWI
Branch: U.S. Navy
Entered: 30 April 1918

Personal Details
Born: 26 March 1894
Died: 25 September 1918
Parents: Burton W. and Lottie (Steele) Shepard
Spouse: Lois M. Casper

Buried: ? Cemetery
Marathon, Iowa

Grant Shepard has recovered somewhat and is now out of the hospital. He is in Company E, section 3, Hospital School, Reg. 6, Barracks 623 North, Camp Perry, Great Lakes, Illinois.

--The Grundy County Dispatch (Grundy Center, Iowa), 7 August 1918, pg 1

Funeral Of Grant Shepard

Last Sad Rites For a Soldier Boy Dying in Service

From the Marathon (Iowa) Republican:

The first funeral in this community held in honor of a boy who died in the service of his country was held at the Methodist church Saturday afternoon, Sept. 28th, 1918.

Grant W. Shepard, who with his parents resided in this community a few years ago, died at the Great Lakes Naval Training School of Spanish influenza, and his body was brought to Marathon for interment. Because of the disease which caused his death the casket remained in the hearse during the funeral service.

The church was well filled with friends and relatives of the deceased and his parents in this community and from other places, and many who gathered to pay respect to a boy who dies of the Woman's Relief Corps attended in a body and also the members of the G.A.R. All Marathon business places were closed for an hour during the funeral.

Beautiful floral offerings were in evidence to show respect for this young man and the church was fittingly decorated by the women of the W.R.C.

Upon the arrival at the church of the hearse containing the casket draped with the American flag, the members of the W.R.C. formed an aisle through which the relatives of the deceased passed into the church. They were followed by the W.R.C. and G.A.R. and many others of the community.

The funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dilman Smith, pastor of the Methodist church at Grundy Center, the present home of Mr. and Mrs. B. W. Shepard and family. His sermon was exceptionally good and very appropriate to the occasion. He took as his text "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That He Lay Down His Life for a Friend."

He emphasized the sacrifice made by the young man, how he gave up all to protect his dear ones from the devastating effects of the war. He declared that such sacrifices were necessary because Christian ideals had not prevailed, and right would not prevail in the world until the Christian world would step forth and battle for it.

Rev. Smith spoke of the intimate acquaintance with the deceased and of the admiration for his manliness and steadfast character. Shortly before leaving for the Great Lakes Naval Training school he had joined Rev. Smith's church and had done his duty as a young man to the church ever since their acquaintance. He mentioned the fact that the young man's life was full of promise, how he had stood at the head of a class of 250 of those taking the work in the medical corps at his camp. That a life so full of promise should be taken is doubly tragic, he said, but his unselfish sacrifice is a noble example for us all.

The pall bearers were J. W. Jenson, J. A. Hitchcock, Frank Lally, T. H. Welch, F. O. Danielson, and M. S. Cushman.

Those attending the funeral from out of town were, Rev. C. C. Casper, of Floyd, Iowa, Mrs. Lester Young of Manchester, John Shepard and Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Davis of Superior, Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Hancher of Plover.

Obituary
Grant Edward Shepard, son of Mr. and Mrs. B. W. Shepard, was born at Edgewood, Iowa, March 26, 1894, and died at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital, Wednesday evening, September 25, at the age of 24 years.

In 1911 Grant came with his parents to Marathon and made his home here for six years. He spent most of his boyhood days studying pharmacy, worked in pharamacies in Riceville, Grundy Center and Gilman. In Gilman he became a member of the Masonic lodge. On April 29, 1918, he was united in marriage to Lois M. Casper, the father of the bride, Rev. C. C. Casper, solemnizing the marriage vows in the city of Waterloo.

On the 28th of April, just five days after his marriage, Grant Shepard entered the service of his country in the medical corps and graduated last week at the head of a class of 250. Grant, following his graduation, was planning to visit his parents in Grundy Center, before leaving for Siberia, when in a flash in a moment of hope and expectation, the news came--"Grant Shepard is dead." Mrs. Shepard, just a few days ago, had left Waukegan, twelve miles from the Great Lakes Training Camp, where she had spent six weeks with her husband, leaving him in the best of health and spirits.

Grant Shepard was a rare young man, with every promise of a long and useful life. He leaves to mourn his loss, his young wife, his father and mother of Grundy Center, a brother Archie and family of Marathon, and Robert, the youngest of the family, besides other relatives and many friends.

Grant was buried beside his sister Nellie and brother Jerve who preceded him about six years ago.

--The Grundy Republican (Grundy Center, Iowa), 10 October 1918, pg 1