Donald "Don" Shepherdson's Obituary
Don passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 4th 2014.
Don was born to Donald O. & Edna L. Shepherdson of Tacoma Wa where he grew up and attended school. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 1964, majoring in business. He was extremely active in clubs and sports, from High School basketball, golf, skiing, debate, pep, and science club to collegiate tennis. He kept up his activities after school traveling in Egypt and Athens with the UPS Alumni club.
Donald had a strong entrepreneurial spirit and began scheming new business prospects from a young age (for better or worse). He began working at the age of 14 selling concessions at local events. The novelty of this early experience never wore off and set the stage for a life-long passion on his feet as a walking concession and souvenir salesman at local stadiums. He was a natural shoe-in for the job.
Don was always a top-seller at sporting events—working at Chenney stadium in Tacoma for 47 years from opening day in 1960 to 2007. During this time, Don sold more than 1 million hotdogs and event programs off his back. When Don wasn’t working events, he was busy with sales of marketing merchandise, perhaps most notably for his expertise of rubber ducks.
In additional to being an Ace salesman, Don had a strong passion for anything sports-related. He participated in numerous competitive sporting events throughout his life from rollerblading, to tennis, to track and running events. Earlier this year, despite his declining health he finished a 5k run/walk.
Don will be remembered for his kind soul and humorous spirit. He had an affinity for the odd, and would always be there to offer you some promotional chap stick, a tide book, or a magazine or news clipping he thought you might enjoy. His quick wit and skill with puns were sure to make you chuckle. Don read the paper daily, always arrived 15 minutes early for meetings or appointments, and liked to live by a schedule. He enjoyed watching old ‘B’ movies, reading about most anything, and had an affinity for fast cars.
Don is survived by many friends and leaves behind not only many positive memories but also a shining example of how to live life to its fullest. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 on Wednesday, October 22nd at the Mountain View Funeral Home in Lakewood, Wa. At Don's request - NO suits shall be worn, wear colorful attire. Free tide books will be available. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the American Cancer Society, on his behalf. Donations can be made at: https://donate.cancer.org/index
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