Karlyn Ann Shepherd (Nourse) — March 17, 1944 - March 6, 2026

    Teacher and lifelong advocate for the autism community
    Many fondly remember Karlyn Ann Shepherd (Nourse) for her caring heart, fun-loving manner, intellectual curiosity and spiritual soul. But what stands out most is her lifelong devotion to those marginalized, underserved and even shunned by others. She accepted all people as they were—and as a compassionate and creative educator, championed the students with autism she taught, mentored, encouraged and loved.
    Karlyn left this world on March 6, just shy of her 82nd birthday, at a care home in Toledo, Ohio after a long decline from Alzheimer’s Disease. She will be missed as the vibrant woman she once was.
    “Karlie” lived her life on her own terms. She loved to listen to music loud, very loud. She was partial to classical music, especially Vivaldi, Beethoven and Bach. She sang along to Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Barbara Streisand, Carly Simon, Anne Murray, John Denver, Cat Stevens and Carol King.
    She loved to decorate—and redecorate, and redecorate—the house. She had a flair for design and collected Asian antiques, especially silk screens painted with mist-shrouded mountains and elegant cranes. If there was a giant puddle on the side of the road, she was veering to drive through it at high speed for a dramatic splash.
    Karlie wrote poetry and read philosophy. She believed in feminism, equality and women’s rights. She was a grower and lover of farm-fresh produce, but partial to McDonald’s apple pies and Taco Bell enchiladas. She loved Dachshunds and Dalmatians—all animals, really—the honesty of little kids and cuddling babies. She loved the museums and Japanese tea garden at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, and Monty Python skits. She liked nicknames, inventing words and unusual sayings: for example, “Whistling biscuits” (AKA going fast).
    Karlie was artistic and inventive. She liked to cook, experiment with recipes, and can fruit, especially brandied cherries from the back-yard tree. She was an accomplished seamstress who made daughter Amy’s wedding dress, fashioned down jackets and embroidered shirts. She painted Russian icons, mixing the paints herself from things like clay and gold leaf, and saying a prayer with each layer. She also practiced the Japanese art of Ikebana flower arranging.
    She was always ready to weigh in on relationships issues, applying her “Sally Freud” analysis, and listening with a sympathetic ear and warm hug. Karlie loved the beach, especially Capitola (California), where she always fondly recalled summers spent there with her grandparents. She preferred the foggy, moody shores of Half Moon Bay and the solitude of the redwoods.
    The daughter of Barbara and Hal Nourse, “Karlie” grew up mostly in Burlingame, Calif., with her sister Janet and brother Hank. She liked games, running, sports and playing outside, and preferred rough-‘n-tumble to frilly dresses and stuffy protocol. When confined to her room, she was the type to lower her bike quietly out the window and escape. When the high school counselor offered her three career choices (nurse, teacher or secretary), she chose teacher—which turned out to be fortuitous and an ideal match.
    Karlie earned her undergraduate degree and teacher’s certificate at San Jose State, where she met and married George Pentz at age 21. Their daughter Michelle was born in Washington, D.C. after George was drafted and served at the Pentagon during the Vietnam War. They soon returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Karlie taught preschool Head Start, helping immigrant children learn English and assimilate to life in the States. George and Karlie were mismatched, though, and the two soon parted ways.
    Sister Jan introduced Karlie to Gordon E. Shepherd, a smart, witty and kind software engineer and pilot from Philipsburg. Gordon was truly the love of her life. They married in 1974, settling in Sunnyvale, and daughter Amy arrived in 1976. Lisa, Gordon’s daughter from his first marriage, later joined the family to make it complete.
    While Amy was in elementary school, Karlie gave solace to families with loved ones in hospice care and volunteered at the Episcopal church, where she taught Sunday School. She would later attend seminary to become an ordained Deacon, an honor of which she was extremely proud.
    When the family moved to Philipsburg to care for Gordon’s mother, Nell Shepherd, Karlie earned a Master’s in Special Education at the University of Montana in Missoula and expanded her expertise to become an interpreter for a deaf student. After Gordon became ill, they relocated to Albuquerque. Karlie found serenity in the high desert of New Mexico.
    She took a job at an elementary school, dedicated to her students with autism. She talked about them often, and embraced them as her own in a world where most didn’t. She had a whole teacher-crafting set-up at home and would stay up late putting together personalized lesson materials she bought with her own money. A constant in her life, she championed those with learning disabilities and, during a stint working for the Episcopal diocese, pushed her church leadership to include gay ministers and women.
    Karlie and Gordon eventually returned to California for retirement near Jan and Hank, where Gordon passed away in 2017. The family moved her to Toledo near daughter Amy as her dementia progressed.
    After Karlie’s passing, when Lisa returned home to Texas, she noticed her flower shrub blooming at last: “You have to laugh, when after four years and three locations, your white camellia finally blooms…pink,” she said. That reminded us of Karlie: She really was a white camellia that bloomed pink. It seemed like a beautiful, unexpected, poignant metaphor—a message from the universe.
    Karlie will be missed by so many, especially her daughters—Lisa Shepherd, Michelle Pentz and Amy Kruse—and brother Hank Nourse, sister Jan and husband Robert Gorts.
    In place of flowers, the family requests donations in Karlie’s name to support the California Autism Foundation. Its aim is giving people with autism the best possible opportunities for lifetime support, training and assistance to help them reach their highest potential for independence, productivity and fulfillment. Info: https://www.calautism.org/