Thomas Stuart Shepley
Posted By Ballard Sunder Funeral Home On August 16, 2023 @ 3:49 pm In 2023,Obituaries | 18 Comments
Tom Shepley, 61, of Burnsville, MN, passed away peacefully at home on August 10, 2023. Tom will be deeply missed by his wife of 29 years, Debra; his sons, Brett (Emma), Tucker (Taylor), Jake and Marcus; sister Sandra Shepley, and brother Dr. Robert (Liz) Shepley.
He was preceded in death by his parents Warren and Patricia Shepley, and sister Judith Ann Shepley Lykins.
His influence as a husband, father, brother and friend will be cherished.
Thomas Stuart Shepley was born on August 28, 1961, to Warren and Patricia (Strait) Shepley in Glencoe, MN. He was the youngest of four children and a delight to his family. Tom was an active and adventurous boy – no stranger to broken bones, or skinned knees! His childhood days in Glencoe and later, Redwood Falls were filled with T-Ball games, Punt, Pass & Kick competitions, bike riding to the city parks, paper routes, and so many other typical small-town activities.
Family vacations included numerous road trips camping in State and National Parks around the country. Two epic vacations involved a 1965 camping trip to the west coast including Disneyland and the Grand Canyon, and a 1967 trip to the east coast including the World’s Fair in Montreal. The Shepley family made frequent visits to see their grandparents at family cabins on Spring Lake and Lake Superior.
Tom graduated from Redwood Falls High School in 1980, after lettering in multiple sports and receiving academic awards. He continued his education at Concordia College Moorhead. His Cobber years were filled with friends and football; he was a member of the 1981 NAIA Championship Team. In addition to his football achievements, Tom was blessed to form lifelong friendships with many of his teammates.
After college graduation, Tom began an exciting 16-year career at Northwest/Republic Airlines. He took full advantage of his travel benefits, with countless trips to Europe, Asia, and throughout the U.S.
In 1993, Tom was introduced to his future wife, Deb Sylvara by his cousin Lynn Strait Bacon, who taught with Deb in Kansas City. Tom and Deb were married on August 6, 1994, in Kansas City, MO.
By far, Tom’s greatest joys were his four sons; in his parental role, he absolutely shined. His world revolved around them. Tom dreamed their dreams and was their faithful friend. Tom shared his favorite boyhood activities with his boys – canoeing for hours on Spring Lake, fishing & catching frogs. Many summer days were spent at the Family cabin in Herbster, WI. Perfect days concluded with fresh trout for dinner, Grandma’s famous Blueberry cake (prepared with hand-picked berries), memorable sunsets over Lake Superior, and spectacular beach bonfires.
Tom’s love of family tradition was never more apparent than in his success mastering recipes for Grandma Strait’s homemade mustard or Grandma Shepley’s steamed cranberry pudding.
Tom and Deb were avid supporters of Burnsville High School Athletics, with their boys participating in multiple sports. Beyond being cheering parents, they were tireless Blaze Boosters. In 2018, they were recipients of the John Coskcran Volunteer Award, recognizing their contribution to Burnsville Athletics.
Tom’s second career has been in the water treatment industry, working the past 15 years in Commercial and industrial Sales for Driessen Water, a Culligan franchise in Northfield, MN.
Tom was a generous and charitable person; he found great joy in blessing others, most often anonymously. A Memorial Fund has been established to carry on his benevolent mission.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to be part of Tom’s legacy:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/thomas-shepley
A private family celebration of Tom’s life will be held later this fall.
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Thoughts and prayers for my Shepley family. Very sorry for your loss. I will think of Tom on my visits to the cabin and I look forward to meeting you up there in the future.
Deb and family,
My sincere condolences.
To Mama Shep and the Boyz our deepest condolences from the Pulley family. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.
To be remembered as a good man is all one can ask. Tom was a good man. I appreciate his help with water projects and the work he accomplished.
My deepest condolences to the Shepley family. Tom was a great colleague and a pleasure to work with.
God bless you and your family.
Tom was my first cousin. Although we lived far apart for most of our lives, Tom made a special effort to visit with my husband Mike and I whenever we were in the area. I especially remember when he was working for Northwest, and we had a layover in Minneapolis. He looked up our flight, saw our layover, found us at a restaurant, and spent hours just visiting and catching up. More recently, Tom and Deb overlapped their visit to the cabin in Herbster, with our visit, by making us a delicious lunch, followed by Grandma Shepley’s famous blueberry cake (with handpicked blueberries). We visited all afternoon. Later, Tom and Sandy went out of their way to meet us, and my cousins from the other side of the family for dinner, and a nice walk and visit. That was our last visit, but these special moments meant so much to me. I always felt that Tom was trying so hard to reach out and connect. I will miss him very much. Our condolences to Deb and the boys.
What a legacy Tom leaves with his short life -but so well lived! I respected his tireless support of Burnsville Athletics (along w/Deb!) and could relate to the endless love and encouragement he showed his Sons! I liked Tom INSTANTLY! What a Guy. He will be Missed!
Our Hughes Family wishes comfort and blessings to Deb & your family. -Scott
Tom was a wonderful human being. I had the pleasure working with him on a few commercial projects at Driessen’s. Tom was always respectful, a man with a lot of energy and consistently on the go. He will be missed greatly by all those who knew it. His departure was a shock to me as I never heard of any medical problem he faced. Such is life and our time here is at makers will. May Almighty rest his soul in peace. Amen!
Deb and family,
My sincere condolences.
As Belgian exchange student ’79-’80 in Redwood Falls I got to know Tom the early week in August I got to town. Senior high school football practice started early and was serious business certainly in light of the Cardinal ‘s football ambition: Soutwestern Conference Championship , we wouldn’t settle for less, so we didn’t .
Tom would set the team verbally straight before leaving the stadium dungeons and heading for the football field.
His becoming a commercial pilot left me a bit jealous. Which kid doesn’t dream of controlling a earliner.
He’ll be missed
My condolences,
Jan Honinx
I was very saddened to hear about Tom. When I worked for the MPCA, I could always count on Tom to do what was necessary to ensure residents in the East Metro had their drinking water systems installed and maintained to ensure their drinking water was safe.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Shepley family.
Gary
Shepleys, I am so sorry for your loss. Tom was an amazing father and man. You could always count on him to support Burnsville sports and his boys. The other thing that made him great was his (and Deb’s) support of every child in the program. A pleasure to be around, and a role model for how to act as a man and leader. My heart breaks for you all during this time.
-Ethan Walker
I am so very sorry to hear about Tom. My heart is broken for you and know that you are in my thoughts and prayers!❤️
Sandy, Bob and Shepley family,
I am very sad to see Tom’s obituary. To loose Judy and now Tom this journey in life has been hard for all of you. May all your wonderful memories as a family keep you strong as you help Deb and Tom’s sons in the days and months ahead. Sandy please call if you wish to talk. Prayers and thoughts are with you all.
Betty Wemerskirchen McAndrews
I knew him by phone via Culligan. He was like one of the nicest guys ever. So sorry for your loss.
Deb and family – Tom was a treasure and such a man of faith. Praying for comfort as you navigate this difficult time of grief. His legacy will certainly echo through future generations.
Dear Deb and family,
We didn’t get enough time to know each other well. I want to say God be with you and comfort you in this time of loss. He will embrace you in his love and promises.
My sincerest condolences for the Shepley family. I knew Tom from Culligan. He provided excellent service to Dakota County Government. Tom was always friendly, upbeat, enthusiastic, and a great conversationalist. I will miss him.
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Deb, I am sorry for you and your family’s loss. I am happy that we had the opportunity to see you guys and this summer and catch up and revisit about memories of football and being roommates after college. He will be missed by friends and family.