Shepard, William Orville

William Orville Shepard (1862-1931), Methodist Episcopal Church bishop, was born at Sterling, Illinois, on April 11, 1862. He graduated from Jennings Seminary (Aurora, Illinois), DePauw University, A.B., 1885; S.T.B., 1886; then A.M., 1888; D.D., 1896; LL. D., 1912; Syracuse University, Ph.D., 1895 (hon. D.D. and LL.D.). Shepard was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church and joined the Rock River Conference in 1886. He held pastorates at Blue Island, Elgin (First Church), Rockford (Court Street), Chicago (Oakland), Evanston, and Englewood (Chicago), between 1886-1909. He served as district superintendent of the Chicago Northern District from 1909 to 1912.

Shepard was elected bishop in 1912, and his episcopal areas were: Kansas City, Kansas, 1912-1916; Wichita, Kansas, 1916-1920; and Portland, Oregon, 1920-1928, an area which included Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. In 1928, Shepard was assigned to Paris, France. This assignment encompassed France, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, North Africa, Madeira Islands, and Liberia. He made trips to South America in 1916 and 1924, and to Europe in 1920, in order to survey post-war conditions and needs. He also made two trips into the Congo region.

William Orville Shepard married Emily Odell on August 15, 1883. The couple raised four sons. Shepard was considered a spokesman on moral questions, and in 1897 he published a book of sermons entitled "Oakland Sermons." He died November 30, 1931 at the age of sixty-nine and was buried in Mount Hope, Chicago.