Barbara Ann Shepherd

Barbara Ann Shepherd was born April 10, 1944, in Yale, Oklahoma to Oscar Lee and Dora May Scott. She was the only girl and had three brothers.

She attended school in Yale, Oklahoma and graduated from high school in 1962. She left Yale when she was 18 and moved to Nichols Hills, to a mansion where she lived and worked for room and board while attending banking school. She started working at the Federal Reserve in downtown Oklahoma City where she was the head teller over 15 plus employees at the young age of 19. She met Jodie Shepherd, and they got married July 18th, 1964, in Yale, Oklahoma. After getting married they moved to Great Bend, Kansas for his job, then to Wilburton, Oklahoma the same year. In December of 1965 they had Randall Wayne. After several different moves in Oklahoma, Jodie was transferred because of his job to Houston, Texas, which during this time her second son, Monte Lee, was born. In 1973 they moved to Fountain Valley, California due to Jodie getting a promotion at his job. While in California, her love of painting began, and she started painting with oil. They lived in California until 1977 when he was transferred to Edmond, Oklahoma.

While living in Edmond, Barbara had several hobbies she was interested in and started a business called Art Affair where she would give lessons in oil and watercolor painting and other crafts. Art Affair was started in 1978 and continued until early 1984. In 1986 Barbara and Jodie divorced, and she started working at a law firm as an administrative assistant. In 1988, she started working at the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics as a night dispatcher. In 1995 she started working at the Oklahoma State Board of Osteopathic Examiners where she stayed until she retired in 2012. After she retired, she began writing novels and children’s books and has won over 400 awards. She has authored several books that have been published. Barbara loved cooking for her family and was famous for her pralines - if she made you a batch you were considered one of her favorites. She also enjoyed growing beautiful flowers and painting pictures of them. She loved quilting and sewing and recently made seven quilts for her children and grandchildren, with the last quilt being made for a great grandchild.

Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Oscar and Dora Scott, two brothers, Charles and Richard Scott, and one son, Monte Lee Shepherd.

Barbara is survived by one brother William Scott of Stillwater, Oklahoma. One son, Randall, and wife Cathleen of Guthrie, Oklahoma. 4 grandchildren, Camaro Yarger, Christina Hoffman, and husband Ricky of Guthrie, Oklahoma. Ryan Shepherd and Brenna Shepherd. 3 great grandchildren, Tristen, Allison, and Radlee Hoffman, and several nieces and nephews. She is also survived by several of her fellow writing friends.

Public viewing will be from 4:00p.m.-8:00p.m. on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at Matthews Funeral Home in Edmond, OK.

Memorial services are to be held at 10:00a.m. on Friday, November 21, 2025 at Matthews Funeral Home Chapel in Edmond, Oklahoma.