Elizabeth Megrail

Athens - Elizabeth Beth Briggs Pickens Sheppard Megrail, age 92, died on Thursday, May 19, 2011, in Athens, at the home of her daughter Judy Lewis, where she has resided since August 2008. A native and longtime resident of Pickens County, S.C., she was born on November 4, 1918, the daughter of the late Francis Elihu Pickens and Lyde Elizabeth Bowen Pickens, and the widow of U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant Bunyan Dexter Sheppard, who died in 1966, and of U.S. Army Captain George G. Megrail, who died in 1989. She was also preceded in death by her three brothers, Reynold, Frank, and Tom Pickens, and close cousin/co-conspirator in youthful hijinks, Sarah Hamilton Meese, all of Easley, S.C. In addition to her daughter, Judy, she is survived by her children, Tom Sheppard (Connie), of Liberty, S.C., and Ann Cox (Jimmy), of Rock Hill, S.C.; nine grandchildren, Andrew Lewis (Carolyn), of Sandy Springs, Rachel Von Ins (Chris), of Norcross, Fran Lewis (Christie Mayo), of Winters, Calif., Carol Sheppard, of Moscow, Russia, Megan Simmons (Zach), of Rock Hill, S.C., Elise Morgan (Brandon), of Pickens, S.C., Amy Sheppard, of Clemson, S.C., and Joel and Iris Sheppard, of Liberty, S.C.; one great-grandson, Conner Morgan, of Pickens, S.C.; long-time close friend, George League, of Greenville, S.C.; cousin, Laura Pickens Heaton, of Easley, S.C.; and long-time four-legged companion, PupDog Pickens, of Athens. Beth was an avid reader and a writer of poetry, who loved art, animals, trees, flowers, and mountains. Her father worked in his youth as a conductor for the railroad, and inspired her love of railroad songs. After graduating from Easley High School and attending Lander College, Beth yearned to attend veterinary school at a time when no such opportunities were open to young women. She did the next best thing by working as an assistant to veterinarian Dr. Everett Salley, of Orangeburg, S.C. Here, she met the Salleys' nephew, Bunyan Sheppard, as he was recovering from injuries received in the Pacific Theater of World War II. They were married in 1947, just before he was transferred from South Carolina to the Marine Corps base at Coronado, Calif. Their honeymoon was a long cross-country drive to California in a red Dodge coupe. Their son, Tom, was born while they were stationed in California, and moved with them as an infant to Camp LeJeune, N.C., and to Easley, S.C. Following Bunyan's assignment in Korea, their daughter, Judy, was born in Camp LeJeune, and after retirement from the military, their second daughter, Ann, was born in Greenville, S.C. Shortly before Ann's birth, Beth and Bunyan fulfilled their dream of purchasing a farm in Pickens County with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and devoted their lives to fencing it and raising Charolais cattle. Bunyan's death at age 56 left his widow determined to continue the farm and to see her children graduate from college. To her delight, all three children graduated from Clemson University. Beth met widower George Megrail in 1982 in an art class at the Peace Center, in Greenville. They were married in the North Carolina mountains and enjoyed eight years of travel, gardening, and bird watching. Following George's death, Beth decided to sell off the homeplace, rent the pastures, and build a small brick home on a corner of the farmland. On a senior center trip to the state fair in Columbia, she met widower George Lewis League, a native of Simpsonville and Greenville. Their friendship was an enduring one and a love story of devotion that includes his no-doubt saving her life three years ago, when she did not answer one of his two daily phone calls because she had fallen and broken her hip. He continued to call her twice daily as she recovered from her broken hip, and later as her health declined due to liver and kidney failure. He is much loved, and considered family by her children. Following her wishes, the family will hold a private memorial service and scatter her ashes in the many places she cherished on this earth. Donations in her memory can be made to the Pickens County Humane Society, 500 Five Forks Rd., Liberty, SC 29657, or to Miracle Hill Children's Home, P.O. Box 2546, Greenville, SC 29602. The family extends special thanks to caregiver, Katherine Hubbard, and Odyssey Hospice staff. Lord & Stephens East, Athens, is in charge of arrangements.