Senior Member Erik W. Shepard

[ironputts]

February 7, 2022

Senior Member Erik W. Shepard
Boulder Composite Squadron
Colorado Wing

Erik William Shepard, 27, passed away in a car accident on Jan 20, 2022. He was born in Palmer, Alaska on February 18, 1994 and raised on a farm in Southwest Wisconsin.

Erik's energy and enthusiasm were tangible to all who knew him. He had many passions, with three main threads intertwined throughout his short life, from early school days to the very end: music, rock climbing/mountaineering, and aviation. He put his all into everything he wanted to do, relying on the motto, "If I can't teach it, I shouldn't be doing it professionally".

Erik worked diligently towards his many achievements, particularly those he was passionate about. In music: The La Crosse Boy Choir, Yellow Cello Young Artists Conductor-less Orchestra (upright bass), Kickapoo High School Band (upright bass), and Winthrop Washington's Bitterroot Beets Band (electric bass and sound system). In rock climbing: UW Madison member and president of the Hoofer Mountaineering Club, Alpine rock climbing guide for North Cascade Mountaineer Guides. In flying, his biggest passion of all: Commercial ASEL pilot and a Single Engine Flight Instructor. Erik achieved these hard-earned flying ratings only months prior to his passing and was recently hired by Journeys Aviation in Boulder, CO, realizing his dream of becoming a commercial flight instructor. He instructed his first and only flight two days before his passing.

Other proud achievements he earned along the way include a BS degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison in Geology and Geophysics, Member and Activities Officer of the Civil Air Patrol Boulder Composite Squadron, and a Wilderness First Responder certification.

Erik is preceded in death by grandmother, Agnes Beauvais Shepard and uncle, Lindsay H. Ellms. Erik is survived by his parents, Mark Shepard and Jennifer Ellms Shepard; brother, Daniel (Katie) Shepard; half-brother, Jack Wilson; grandparents, Byron Z. Shepard, and Lindsay P. and Pauline Ellms; in addition to several aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is also survived by his partner, Emma Wells, of Boulder, CO and many friends, near and far.