BERTHA S. WOOTEN
Died May 24, 2014
DURHAM -- Bertha Eutsler Shepherd Wooten, 101, died on May 24, 2014.
The daughter of Eugene Ernest Eutsler and Edith Oettinger Eutsler, she lived most of her life in Goldsboro. She attended Randolph Macon Woman's College for two years and graduated from Duke University. She married William A. Shepherd Jr. of Richmond, Va., and lived in Richmond and Baltimore, Md., where her husband was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground during World War II. Following the war they lived in Goldsboro, where Mr. Shepherd founded a wholesale supply business that would later become Shepherd Electric Supply Company. After Mr. Shepherd's death in 1971, she served for a number of years as president and later board chairman of the company. In 1981, she married Sterling D. Wooten, who is now deceased.
She is survived by a son, Daniel B. Shepherd, and wife, Carolyn; two daughters, Edith Stuart Shepherd and Sarah Shepherd McMahan and husband, Dr. Jefferson McMahan; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She is also survived by a stepdaughter, Louise Wooten Talley and husband, Dr. Banks C. Talley; and a stepson, S. Dillon Wooten, and wife, Susan, and their families.
Mrs. Wooten had lifelong interests in education and the arts. In Goldsboro she served on the city school board for 12 years and on the Foundation board of Wayne Community College. She was also active in the Wayne County Art Society and served as president. She received the Cornerstone Award given annually by the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce to a Wayne County citizen who has served the community with distinction. She established scholarships at Wayne Community College and Virginia Military Institute. Mrs. Wooten also served as a deacon and elder in the First Presbyterian Church, Goldsboro.
In 1997, Mrs. Wooten moved to The Forest at Duke, a retirement community in Durham, where she lived for the rest of her life. At 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, her family will receive friends and staff at The Forest at Duke, Carlton Wing, 2701 Pickett Road, Durham.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Willowdale Cemetery, Goldsboro. The family will receive friends following the service at McChesney Hall, First Presbyterian Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Foundation of Wayne Community College, P.O. Box 8002, Goldsboro, N.C. 27533-8002; First Presbyterian Church, 1101 East Ash St., Goldsboro, N.C. 27530; and VMI Foundation/William A. Shepherd Jr. '30 Scholarship Fund, P. O. Box 932, Lexington, Va. 24450.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on June 15, 2014 12:13 PM