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Ruby Kathleen Birrer (Greenup) Sheppard passed away peacefully on September 27, 2022, with family by her side. She had her 98th birthday only five days before she left us.
Ruby was known to family and friends as “Grandma Bear” or “Bear.” She acquired her nickname years ago after reading a Berenstain Bears book to granddaughter Greta. Greta asked, “What about Grandma Bear?” and the name stuck.
Bear was a vibrant, generous, and lovable woman with an amazing zest for life. She was always helping friends and family; her needs were met only when she knew those close to her were happy. In her later years, Bear was legally blind and somewhat immobile, but she had a mind like a steel trap and kept visitors in stitches with her jokes and stories about events gone by. An avid reader and basketball fan, she switched to audiobooks and NBA games on the radio when she could no longer see print or the TV screen. Come what may, she was always positive with a glass half-full attitude. Give her a cigarette, cup of coffee (sometimes with a dash of Kahlua), caramel, spice drop or Tootsie Roll plus some good conversation, and she was happy as a clam…usually with a cat in her lap to share the experience.
Upon her birth in Lima, MT to Henry Martin Birrer and Margaret Amelia Deatsch on September 22, 1924, the doctor said she probably was not strong enough to survive. But she defied the prediction and grew more vigorous every day. She was the tenth born of twelve children, ten of whom lived to adulthood. Over the years she had numerous ailments that could easily have taken her down. She always said, “You have to be tough; you only go around once” and she lived life to the fullest.
Bear was a tough nut with a soft center who raised three children for many years as a single parent. She had a variety of jobs including store clerk, dental assistant, food catering supervisor and practical nurse. Bear loved caring for others, especially her children and grandchildren as they grew up. She was always there to lend a hand, an ear, or a cheerful comment. She was very proud of her family, always encouraging and supportive.
She was preceded in death by all her siblings: Clarus, Bernice, Rita, Adelaide, Dorothy, Gerald, Clifford, Rachel, Emmett, Herschel, and Henry. She outlived two husbands, Hugh “Pete” Greenup and Robert Sheppard. Most recently, her son-in-law John Ulrich passed in 2015 and daughter Rita (Ostby) Ulrich in 2019. She is survived by her daughter Kathryn (Bud) Beebe of Fair Oaks, CA; son Hugh Greenup of Philipsburg, MT; grandchildren Tania (Paul) Galloway of Spring, TX; Grant (Jeannie) Ostby of Cutbank, MT; Greta (Chuck) Adams of Cody, WY; and Luke (Marissa) Ostby of Clancy, MT. Bear is also survived by eleven great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild (born on September 9th of this year), and numerous nieces and nephews, including two especially close nieces Connie Mecham of Missoula, MT and Rita Annabelle Gergurich of Polson, MT.
She blessed the lives of many, but none more so in recent years than her granddaughter Greta and Greta’s husband Chuck. She moved to Cody, WY from MT 12 years ago to be with them. The three shared a life together filled with love and laughter. When her health deteriorated, she lived her final months at Bear Grass Suites Assisted Living in Boulder, MT. The care of Amanda and her Bear Grass team was exceptional, and the family will be forever grateful.
A celebration of Bear’s life will occur on October 15th at 1 pm at the Legal Tender Pub & Bistro (where she once hosted) in Clancy, MT. Please reach out to the family or contact Simple Cremation Montana in Helena to RSVP. Interment and another celebration will be held in Lima, MT next summer.
Ruby was a joy and a blessing to everyone who knew her and will be sorely missed. Bear had a fondness for cats and in lieu of flowers, it would be appropriate to honor her memory with a donation to an animal shelter (which she often called a “cat house” with a twinkle in her eye). Or you could give a kitty a forever home.
To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Ruby Kathleen Sheppard, please visit our Tree Store.