Senior Spotlight - Connie Shepherd

Senior Spotlight - Connie Shepherd

Proudly sponsored by Friends of the Magazine

When you come across a person who intentionally carries a pair of plastic Halloween spiders in their hair during October, you know you’ve met someone who knows how to turn life into a treat. And that is exactly what Connie Shepherds has done for 90 years. She’s had herself a good time indeed.

She’s been living in Spanish Fork since the 1950’s in a little red brick home which her husband, Homer, helped build. Even though Homer passed away in 1989, she agrees he’s still taking care of her everyday because of the shelter he still provides under the roof of their trim and tidy house.

Connie also had a peculiar hairstyle the day she first met Homer. It was a chore day. She had been in the basement preparing a delivery of coal for heating the house. Her honey-blonde hair was tied up in rag strips for curlers. Her cheek carried smudges of coal soot from her dirtied hands, as did her clothing. It was while thus attired, that a girlfriend unexpectedly stopped by... with a boy in tow. He had returned from his two-year service in the Navy and had been told he needed to meet a certain young lady.

Connie sure thought he was cute. But she was a bit worried about what he must have thought of her interesting attire. The coal dust couldn't hide Connie’s charm, however, because she and Homer were later married in the very home in which she’d been shoveling coal. He was 20, and she was 17.

When her three children were born, flour sacks were what Connie utilized to clothe them with her sewing skills. Back then, flour sacks were printed with designs like flowers, paisley, etc, similar to fabric today. She made puff-sleeve blouses for her two girls, and was quite pleased at successfully setting in fitted sleeves for her son’s collared flour sack shirt. For 15 years, Connie worked as a seamstress sewing children’s flannel pajamas at a local shop.

The motto Connie has always lived by is this: life is meant to be fun and active. She and Homer often went golfing together, went dancing at Elk’s Lodge, and traveled high and low for many years in their little motorhome. She’s a singer, goes bowling, paints ceramics, and for a time, she even taught the exercise classes at the Senior Citizen Center. At 90 years old, she can still keep track of a card game called “Hand and Foot” which involves 7 decks of cards. (She’s also not shy of sneaking over to Wendover for a little bit of gambling… but it was only once a month. Shhh).

When her husband Homer passed away about 30 years ago, Connie says Spanish Fork’s Senior Citizen Center saved her life. It helped her fill the void with new camaraderie and involvement. Her advice to everyone? Just love

each other, and share advice even if others don’t take it. Just let them know how much you care. And always stay active. “If I could do it over again,” she says, “I would stay very active.” And with those plastic spiders in her hair to match her Halloween shirt, you can instantly tell Connie knows how to liven things up for a good ‘ol time. Show us how it’s done, Connie!