Beloved Sparta elementary school teacher Elaine “Louise” Shepherd died unexpectedly at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York after having a severe brain hemorrhage and going into cardiac arrest while driving home from Boston on Monday, Sept. 26. She was 57.
Born in Stakeford, Northumberland, England, Louise went to Bedlington High School before graduating from Northumberland College in Ashington, her obituary says.
Louise then went to the US for what was initially supposed to be a six-month job as a nanny in 1985 — but after meeting her husband, Scott, the pair decided to settle down before having two sons, Jake and Brandon, her memorial says.
From Louise’s obituary:
Louise loved spending time with her family, both here in the US and traveling back to England. She had a great love of the outdoors whether it was spending time in her zen garden by the pool, boating, hiking, or biking. She enjoyed traveling as well with some of her favorite vacation spots being the Lake District in Cumbria, Coastal Northumberland, and Cape Cod.
Louise was full of life. She was kind and loving, the rock of our family. Her beautiful smile and laughter as well as her incredible sense of humor were infectious. The outpouring of love and support over the past week has been overwhelming but shows how many lives she truly touched. Louise is survived by her husband of 31 years, Scott, her sons Jake (26) and Brandon (23), her mother Dorothy, her brother Andrew and his wife Cally, 6 nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins and all of the extended Shepherd in-law family.
