Gary Leonard Shepherd, 72, passed away peacefully at his home in Spearfish, SD on Saturday, January 22 after a 2 year battle with cancer.  Gary was born October 28, 1949 in Rapid City, SD to Leonard and Arlene (Brammer) Shepherd.  Gary took great pride in being a native Rapid Citian.  He graduated from Rapid City High School in 1967 and attended Southern State College in Springfield, SD graduating with an Associates Degree in 1969.  He married Susan McNeil on November 29, 1969 in Rapid City.  He and Sue lived in Minneapolis, MN where he was a machinist apprentice at FMC Corp. until January of 1972, when he entered the USAF and was stationed at Ellsworth AFB until his discharge in 1976.  His son, Bryan, was born in December of 1972.  He joined the Rapid City Fire Department on March 17, 1976 where he began a 32 year career rising through the ranks and becoming Fire Chief on July, 4 1998, retiring from service on January 8, 2008.  He had a passion for serving the Rapid City Community through his role in the RCFD.  He took great pride in his involvement in the organization of the Rapid City/Pennington County Dive Rescue Team, in bringing the ambulance service to RCFD, his involvement in the Rapid City Sister City Fire Fighter Exchange program with Apolda, Germany, and his time working with the United Way.

Gary grew up roaming the hills around Chapel Valley with his neighborhood friends, playing Little League, Pony League and Post 22 baseball, and much to his dismay he took accordion lessons which most likely lead to his musical interest later in life.   Throughout his life, Gary enjoyed hunting deer, elk and pheasants, fishing trips to Canada and he recently found a love for fly fishing.  He loved traveling with friends to Spring Training games in Florida or Arizona, annual spring road trips with Dakota Corvettes and trips to Rapid City's Sister City, Apolda, Germany and he especially valued all the great friendships made in Germany.   He enjoyed spending time in the beauty of the Black Hills: whether it be driving his Corvette through the hills, driving the UTV on trails near his home or sitting on the deck with family and friends enjoying the view that he loved.  His other retirement hobbies included building stringed instruments, etching glass, flying his drone and "tinkering" around the property.

Gary and Sue were very fortunate to have shared 52 years making great memories.  Gary was incredibly proud of his son Bryan and daughter-in-law Neala and the life they have made for their family.  The true light of his life were his two grandchildren, Camden 18 and Braxton 12.

Gary is survived by his wife, Sue, his son Bryan, daughter-in-law Neala, granddaughter Camden, and grandson Braxton all of Mt. Horeb, WI; brother Lee (Ann) Shepherd, Rapid City, SD; sister-in-law Maria Roes Schreiner; and nieces and nephew.

He was preceded in death by an infant sister, his mother, Arlene (Brammer) Shepherd, his father, Leonard Shepherd, stepmother Arlene (Reynolds) Shepherd, and his stepbrother, LeRoy Roes.

Funeral services will be Thursday, January 27, 2022, at 11:00 AM at the Calvary Lutheran Church with burial following at 1:30 PM at BH National Cemetery. A luncheon will be held at Calvary Lutheran Church following the burial.

You will be able to livestream the service on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/calvaryrapidcity or YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/c/calvarylutheranchurchrapidcitysd

In lieu of flowers the family requests a memorial donation to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation – cholangiocarcinoma.org , United Way of the Black Hills – unitedwayblackhills.org, Spearfish City Park Band Shell Fund- spreadthetunes.org or a charity of your choice.