By Barry Simmons*
May 20, 2009 | BALTIMORE (UMNS)

“Very proud of her,” says her trainer, Raymond Day. “Who wouldn’t be?”

Shepherd, who picked up her first dumbbell at age 56, was initially hesitant to strap on a bathing suit and compete alongside women half her age. But insecurities vanished after her first competition when she received a medal – for first place.

“No one was my age. They were between 35 and 45,” she says, with a smile. “I was so proud to be up there on that stage.”

A retired grandmother who worked 30 years for a telephone company, Shepherd runs upward of 80 miles and hits the gym at least four times each week.

In the process, she has become an inspiration to other senior women, who flock to her aerobics classes at Union Memorial United Methodist Church.

“Sometimes I wonder how she does it,” says Ida Massey, who attends the church class. “Her ministry is to encourage people. She encourages people to do as much as they can.”

“You look at yourself and think, ‘How does she do that?” says Ernestine’s pastor, the Rev. Esther Holimon, who attends the class. “And how can I look like that?”

Recovering from loss

During a recent training session at Energy Fitness where Shepherd is a regular, Day points to the chiseled back muscles flexing underneath her trademark pink tank top.

Shepherd did not always look so fit. She remembers trying on bathing suits with her sister, Velvet, 20 years ago.

“She says, ‘Just what are you laughing at?’ I told her I was laughing at her. And she says, ‘Well, I’m laughing at you, too,” she says. “And that’s when we knew we had to do something.”

The sisters embarked on an intense exercise regimen, working out together nearly every day. Velvet was profiled in a local newspaper article about anti-aging success stories.

“She was very strong,” Shepherd recalls. “At that time I couldn’t lift anything like she could.”

But then Velvet began experiencing headaches. Next, she lost the use of her left eye. Worried, Ernestine insisted on taking her to a doctor, but Velvet died suddenly of an aneurysm before the appointment.

Her sister’s death had a profound impact on Shepherd, who abandoned her training regimen. After several months went by, her trainer visited her at work.

“He said, ‘Now, you know your sister wouldn’t want you to do this,” she says. “So with his persuasion I went back to the gym.”

Serving others

Today, Shepherd says, she lives to inspire other senior women to reach their physical potential.

Loretta Lassiter, 81, sweats it out several times a week with the other two dozen women who attend Sherpherd’s class at the gym. “She tells every woman what you can be,” Lassiter says. “And that’s what we’re all here for.”

“Put your arms out there, honey!” Shepherd squeals.

Short, who obliges, says Shepherd is a role model to women all over the country.

“Anybody can do it,” she says. “Just get out and try it.”

Over the years, Shepherd has been featured in magazines and on television shows like “The View.”

In June, she will turn 73. But she has no plans to slow down. Day, her trainer, says she’s in perfect health. The only pills she takes are supplements.

“Right now, she’s not on any kind of medication,” he says. “I mean, 73 years old. That’s fantastic! That’s how I want to be.”

So how long will she continue to compete?

Shepherd smiles again.

“As long as the Lord will allow me to do it.”

*Simmons is a freelance producer based in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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