Garrett Augustus Hobart Sheppard

Garrett Augustus Hobart Sheppard was born in 1897 in Greenville, Texas, the son of David and Susie. In 1930, he received a BA from Bishop College in Texas, graduating with highest honors. The next year, 1931, he completed a BA in religious education at Hartford Seminary before earning a doctorate in theology from Yale Divinity School in 1934. His 1965 obituary stated that he pastored churches in Mexia and Texarkana before settling in 1948 in Dallas, where he lived for 25 years. Sheppard served as pastor of the Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church for many years. He also served as president of the Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress of the Baptist, Missionary, and Educational Convention of Texas. In addition to honorary degrees from Bishop College and Arkansas Baptist College, he received the Bookman Award for distinguished community service and the Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He was a trustee of Bishop College. His wife Bertha survived him, and she died in 1998. They are buried in Dallas.