Paul Howe Shepard, Jr., an "elder" in the environmental movement, human ecologist, teacher, and author, died at his home in Salt Lake City on July 16, 1996. A non-smoker, he succumbed to lung cancer after a courageous two-year battle.
He was born on July 12, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in Mountain Grove, Missouri where his father was director of the state experimental fruit farm. He spent three years in military service in World War II, 1943-46, and served in the European theatre of war in the 493 Armored Field Artillery of the 12th Armored Division. In 1946, he attended the University of Missouri where he graduated in wildlife biology and English literature. Upon graduation, he became field secretary for the Conservation Federation of Missouri under Charles Callison. In 1950 he entered Yale University in a newly organized master's degree program in conservation directed by Paul Sears and G. Evelyn Hutchinson and followed this with a Ph.D. in which he studied the relationship of ecology and art in American culture.Shepard was a conservation activist in the 1950's, then teacher and author. He was a National Lecturer for Sigma Xi, a Distinguished Lecturer for the Fulbright Program in India, and a Fellow of the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations. Shepard taught at Knox, Smith, Dartmouth, and Pitzer Colleges and the Claremont Graduate School. At the time of his death he was Avery Professor Emeritus of Human Ecology at Pitzer College and the Claremont Graduate School.
Shepard's work in landscape perception and human ecology spanned more than 40 years. His attachment to the natural world was profound. His first book, MAN AND THE LANDSCAPE, was an influential book in shaping environmental thought. His interdisciplinary research and writing took him into diverse fields and he published a dozen books on such subjects as hunting/gathering peoples, child development, and the roles of animals in human thought and identity. During his illness, he continued writing and published THE OTHERS, How Animals Made us Human (Island Press, 1995), THE ONLY WORLD WE'VE GOT (Sierra Club, 1996) and TRACES OF AN OMNIVORE, (in press, Island Press, 1996) and completed several other book manuscripts.
He is survived by his wife, Florence R. B. (Krall) Shepard; three children by his first marriage to Melba Wheatcroft Shepard: Kenton Shepard of Boulder, Colorado; Margaret Winn of Darby, Montana; and Jane Shepard of Brooklyn, New York; a brother, Dick Shepard of New York City; a nephew, Grey Shepard of Boulder, Colorado; and four grandchildren. He is also survived by four stepchildren: Kathryn Morton of Portland, Oregon, Matthew Krall of Kemmerer, Wyo., Lisi Krall of Cortland, New York; Robert C. Krall of Flagstaff, Ariz.; and seven step-grandchildren.
A viewing will be held Sunday afternoon, July 21, 3-3:45 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East So. Temple, followed by a 4 p.m. Memorial Ceremony to be held at St. Mark's Cathedral, 231 East 100 South. Graveside offering will be in Kemmerer, Wyoming on Monday, July 22 at 12 Noon.
In lieu of flowers, send donations to the Paul H. Shepard Scholarship Fund, Teton Science School, Box 68, Kelly, Wyo. 83011.
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