Shepherd, 70, died homeless with no known family after suffering from burns police say he received from another man.
A Vietnam veteran, he served in the Navy for 15 years before being honorably discharged in 1974, said Floyd County Coroner Barry Henderson.
Today his body will be laid to rest, not in the pauper section of Oakland Cemetery in Rome, but at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton at 11 a.m.
“The gentleman will receive a proper burial,” Henderson said.
And a gentleman is how Davies will remember Shepherd. The two struck up a friendship when Shepherd attended the Meals and More program sponsored by Rome Action Ministries at First Christian Church on East Second Avenue.
“He was a prince of a guy,” said Davies, the inspiration behind the William S. Davies Homeless Shelters in Rome. “He was gentle and very intelligent.”
Davies will be performing the ceremony, and the American Legion Post 5 honor guard will be performing the military rites such as the sounding of Taps, a three-volley salute and the ceremonial folding of the American flag.
Dan Emerick, a member of the honor guard, said he has been performing these ceremonies for 10 years.
Emerick said the ceremonial sounding of Taps, a song that is played at the end of the day, represents the end of a person’s life.
“He will be buried with dignity,” Davies said. “It is an American tragedy to die with no one, particularly for a veteran.”
Henderson & Sons Funeral Home has charge of the funeral arrangements, Emerick said.
Shepherd died May 6 at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, where was being treated for burns he received in Rome on April 6.
Glenn Haymer, 49, listed as homeless, has been charged with Shepherd’s murder.
Davies said he hopes that in the coming days there will be a community memorial service for Shepherd.
“We didn’t want this man to slip by with no one remembering him,” Davies said.
Read more: RN-T.com – Shepherd will be buried as a veteran not a pauper
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