Thelma Rose Shephard Meier

SHEPHARD MEIER — Thelma Rose (Miller), 100; born April 4, 1919, Rosa, Washington; died May 22, 2019, at Royal Columbian Retirement Inn, in Kennewick, Washington. Surviving: husband, Bernie Meier (age 103); daughter and son-in-law, Suzanne and Larry Swisher; 3 grandchildren and their spouses, Jason and Kristine Swisher, Oceanside, California; Christopher and Kathleen Korwin Swisher, Hood River, Oregon; Jenni and David Royer, College Place, Washington; and 6 great-grandchildren, Emily Royer, Damon Royer, K.J. Swisher, Skyler Swisher, Uly Korwin-Swisher and David Korwin-Swisher.

Thelma Rose Miller, age 100, was born on April 4, 1919, in Rosa, Washington, and passed away on May 22, 2019, in Kennewick, Washington. Her parents were Jesse and Ethel (Renshaw) Miller. At the age of six, the family moved to Granger, where they lived for a short time. Another move took them to Elma, Washington, where Thelma spent her childhood and high school years. During her senior year, she transferred to Columbia Academy in Battle Ground, Washington. While there, she made many life-long friends.

She went on to Walla Walla College, where she earned a B.S. degree in nursing. While in nurses’ training she met a handsome army soldier, Stanley Shephard, who was a pharmacist. On the evening following her graduation in 1943, from nursing, they were married in the nurses’ parlor. She worked as a nurse while Stanley finished dental school.

The family grew as two children joined their family: a daughter, Suzanne and a son, Steven. The family moved to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, where Stanley worked in the dental clinic on the Sioux Indian Reservation, serving his time in Public Health Service. In 1955, they moved to Loma Linda, California, where Stanley was a professor and founder of the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. Thelma worked as a private duty nurse. She was very involved in the community and was active in their church.

In 1961, they moved to Pasco, Washington, where Stanley started an orthodontic practice in Richland. Thelma was an active member of the community. She worked with the Red Cross blood drives, stop smoking clinics and was a recording clerk for the local and national elections boards. Stanley and Thelma loved to travel. They traveled to many places around the world. They were avid snow and water enthusiast. After Stanley’s death in 1990, she married long-time friend, Bernie Meier. They spent a year in Taiwan, where they taught English. They enjoyed several years of traveling. Thelma was a member of the Pasco Riverview Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Her son, Steven Dean Shephard, passed away in 1989. Her husband, Dr. Stanley L. Shephard, preceded her in death in 1990.

A memorial service was held on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, in the Pasco Riverview Church.