Ruth Heavner Shepherd (1924-2016), of Hildebrand, North Carolina, served as a Pharmcist 3rd mate in the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) from 1944-1946. Ruth Heavner Shepherd was born 27 July 1924 in Burke County, North Carolina. She graduated from Mountain View High School in 1940 at the age of sixteen. Shepherd attended the National Youth Administration School on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina as part of the Work Progress Administration program. After her training, she was sent to work for a defense plant, the American Hammered Pistol Ring Company, in Baltimore, Maryland. After a year and a half, Shepherd returned to North Carolina and began work in a hosiery mill. Following in her boyfriend's steps, who had joined the United States Navy in 1942, Shepherd joined the Navy WAVES, or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, in November 1944, and was sent to boot camp at Hunter College in Bronx, New York. Shepherd was then assigned to Naval Hospital Corps School in Bethesda, Maryland, for about six weeks, where she learned to be a pharmacist's mate. Her duties included making patient comfort rounds, giving injections, and sterilizing equipment. Shepherd's next assignment was Norfolk Naval Hospital in Virginia, working primarily in the surgical ward, but occasionally assisting with the dependents ward and the newborns of navy spouses. In May 1946, Shepherd was discharged from the WAVES and returned to North Carolina. She entered Clevenger Business College and earned a degree in Accounting. She also married her longtime boyfriend, Ray Howard Shepherd, in December 1946. In 1950 or 1951, Shepherd began a job with Thomas and Howard Company, a grocery distributor. In 1961, Shepherd attained employment with Drillers Service, Inc., performing bookkeeping work for fifty-four years, until suffering a stroke in March 2015. She passed away 16 November 2016.
