Miriam (Mim) Hartford Shepard, wife of the late William T. Shepard, died on March 31, 2019. She was born on November 16, 1929 to Alfred and Irene Hartford in Concord, NH. She leaves three daughters and three sons-in-law, the Rev. Cynthia and Rev. Dr. Bruce Cadenhead of Johnstown, PA, Sarah and Paul Wheeler of Stafford Springs, CT and Anne and Tom Gilligan of Natick, MA. She also leaves eight grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren; Benjamin, his wife Emily and their daughter Safran, Peter, his wife Rian and their daughters Malia, Ezra and Ariah, James, his wife Kara and their son Kai, Andrew, his wife Sara and their son David, Sarah and her son Aaron, Rebecca and her fiancé James, Timothy and Brian. She was predeceased by her brother Warner Hartford and good friend and sister-in-law Nancy Hartford. She is survived by her brother-in-law and sister-in-law Loren and Lorene Shepard of Vermont and several nieces and nephews.
Mim graduated from Concord High School in New Hampshire and earned a Bachelors of Science degree from Skidmore College. She obtained a Master's degree in Counseling from the University of Hartford. Mim was a Registered Nurse who worked in New York City as a visiting nurse as well as in Boston area hospitals. The bulk of her career (nearly 30 years) was spent with the Simsbury Board of Ed as a school nurse and Director of Health Services.
For 55 years she was a member of the First Church of Christ, Simsbury, where she was an Elder, Deacon, member of Faith Circle and other committees. She was a volunteer for community groups and social agencies in past years including the Salvation Army, A Better Chance, Meals on Wheels and Gifts of Love. She received the Eliot Dodge award for service and dedication to the Simsbury School system. She was also a Hometown Hero in Simsbury in its first year, 1987. She was an original member of the Simsbury Community Band.
We would like to thank the staff at Johnson Memorial Hospital's ER and ICU in Stafford Springs. They treated her with kindness and respect in the last hours of her life.
A memorial service will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 6th at the First Church of Christ in Simsbury. In lieu of flowers, please give to the Simsbury First Church of Christ Memorial Garden Fund, 689 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT 06070, the Simsbury Community Band, P.O Box 201, Simsbury, CT 06070, or Gifts of Love, 34 East Main Street, Avon, CT 06001 in her memory. The Vincent Funeral Home of Simsbury is caring for the arrangements. Please visit Mim’s “Book of Memories” at www.vincentfuneralhome.com for online condolences.