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JOSEPH SHEPPHERD
Joseph Sheppherd, 1949 - 2015, was a world citizen. A cultural and linguistic anthropologist and archaeologist, he used his wide experience living in many countries and his gift for engaging storytelling to captivate the readers of his many books and the spellbound audiences at his numerous talks and presentations. Joseph lived in the United States, Great Britain, Panama, Colombia and Slovakia, and spent many years among the tribal rainforest peoples in the jungles of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

Those who knew him recognized Sheppherd as a true Renaissance man—a writer, author, teacher, sculptor, graphic artist, fabricator and painter who excelled not only as a renowned anthropologist but as an expert in indigenous cultures, factory and museum management, antiquities restoration, architectural design, homebuilding and as a dedicated Baha’i. Like his diverse intellect, his books broadly ranged from professional publications to Baha'i introductory works, children's literature, non-fiction, poetry and science fiction.

He served the Bahá’í community as a pioneer in Panama, Colombia, Cameroon and Slovakia; strengthened his scholarly pursuits during 13 years in Britain; and worked with various populations in the United States and abroad to preserve cultural heritage.

“His was a life well-lived, in constant service to our beloved Faith as a writer, teacher, and international pioneer,” the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States wrote in a letter of condolence to his wife.

Joseph was born in 1949 to Archie and Margaret Sheppherd, by his own account in a family of California cattle ranchers and fruit farmers. He discovered the Bahá’í Faith along with his mother, with whom he moved to Germany in the 1960s. There, he formally enrolled in the Bahá’í community, at age 15, on the day the House of Worship near Frankfurt formally opened in 1964.

His curiosity led him over the years to study fine arts, physical sciences, anthropology and archaeology in Kansas, California and England. His willingness to travel made pioneering a natural form of service; by age 21 he had moved to Panama and then Colombia, teaching the Bahá’í Faith and helping strengthen Bahá’í communities especially in indigenous populations. He served on Colombia’s National Teaching Committee and on Local Spiritual Assemblies in several cities. There, he met and married Fanny Pinto. They relocated to California in 1974 for his studies and began a family. In 1976 they moved to Cameroon, where he researched a local tribe’s language and proverbs, then worked in occupations that allowed a freer hand in sharing the Bahá’í teachings.

In 1982 he went to Britain for graduate study at Cambridge University and various research activities, working for a while at that country’s national Bahá’í center, and teaching part time at the American College in London. He was married a second time, to Taraneh Majidi.

During those years he developed the results of his research in Cameroon into the book A Leaf of Honey. “Through his wit, humor and genuine sense of joy,” notes Gordon Kerr, who was editor at the U.K. Bahá’í Publishing Trust at the time, “Joseph managed to awaken and deepen our appreciation of culture. He understood that to be truly united we must first learn to value and appreciate our diversity.”

In the mid-1990s, he settled in Bend, Oregon, marrying Janet Wilson in 1997. He assisted the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon, in archaeological research and restoring traditional canoe making. Still energetic in Bahá’í community-building and teaching, he also facilitated sessions at Bosch Bahá’í School and summer schools in the Northwest — sometimes creating or commissioning crafts and music for the programs.

When the couple moved to Trnava in 2007, Joseph maintained all those activities in Slovakia and neighboring countries, as well as continuing to produce books, plays and other works for children, junior youth and young adults — many inspired by Slovak cultural themes and folk tales.

Joseph Shepperd died in Trnava, Slovakia, on April 9, 2015, from infection following surgery. He was 65. In addition to his wife, he has two daughters and a son.

His written works for various ages include:

A Leaf of Honey: Proverbs of the Rainforest. The Island of the Same Name, The Elements of the Bahá’í Faith, A Wayfarer’s Guide to Bringing the Sacred Home, Mama Buzurg Is Coming, Guebe and the Toy Truck, Dozens of short stories and dramatic presentations.