Laura May “Laurie” Shepard

Laurie passed away September 28, 2015, in Fallon Nevada, where she and her husband Bill lived on their ranch. Laurie was preceded in death by parents, Leo and Vera Sauer and her brother Wayne Sauer, and is survived by her husband Bill, her children Brad (Denise Laxalt) Lingenfelter, Patty Julian, Julie (John Douglas) Lingenfelter, Jay (Patti) Lingenfelter, and Scott (Laura Traxler) Shepard, her twelve grandchildren Katerina, Cara, Marisa, Jesse L., Zoey, Jesse M., Dwyte, Steven, Kevin, Bob, Brett and Kristyn, great grandson Mason, and the many children of her heart who were in need of her special brand of love and care at various stages of their lives. Laurie was raised on a cattle ranch in Pleasant Valley, Nevada, where her parents raised registered Herefords. She graduated from Reno High School and the University of Nevada Reno, with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture and animal husbandry. She and her dear friend Betty Knight were the first women to be admitted to the College of Agriculture at the University of Nevada Reno. Laurie was actively involved in the livestock industry in Nevada and California throughout her life. Serving as a 4-H Leader for over 15 years, Chairman of the Reno Bull Sale and a member of the Nugget Bull Sale Committee, President of the Nevada Cowbelles Association, Chairman of the Western Regional Limousin Association, Advisor to the Nevada Junior Hereford Association, President of the Nevada Quarter Horse Association and Silver State Quarter Horse Association, Director for the Nevada Reined Cow and Cutting Horse Association, Churchill County Fair Board member, a member of the Washoe County Committee to improve the Washoe County Fairgrounds. She was an active member of numerous cattle and horse organizations throughout her life. She won a great many awards exhibiting her cattle and horses, one of her proudest was to have raised and shown the Grand Champion Hereford Steer at the Grand National Cow Palace. Laurie’s service to the community was not limited to the livestock industry. She served as President of the Washoe Medical Center Womens League, during which time the league was instrumental in providing the funding to acquire the first linear accelerator in the state of Nevada. She also served as Chairman of the March of Dimes, and as a Heritage Society member involved in the 1968 refurbishing of the Nevada Governor’s Mansion. A Celebration of Laurie’s Life will be held on Sunday November 8th 2015 from 11am to 4pm, at the Fallon Convention Center, 100 Campus Way Fallon, Nevada 89406. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Nevada Junior Livestock Show Board, attention the Laura May Shepard Scholarship Fund, Post Office Box 8026, Reno, Nevada 89507.