Edwina Sheppard Pepper
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Edwina N. Sheppard Pepper 1893-1988
Early Life
Edwina N. Sheppard Pepper was born Edwina N. (Neil, Neal, or Neel) Sheppard to Lydia Goings Sheppard and John Alexander Sheppard April 8, 1893. Edwina was the eldest of 4 daughters, Pauline Virginia, Wells Theodosia Vincenta, and Jane. Edwina's father was a lawyer and oil magnate who later moved the family to Tulsa Oklahoma.
Marriage & Family
Edwina Sheppard married Curtis Gordon Pepper (1887- 1930) mechanical engineer from Champaign Illinois on May 6 1916 at her parent's estate Kenwood in Huntington West Virginia. The couple resided in Huntington in 1920 and were the parents of two children Curtis "Bill" Pepper and Jack Pepper. Later the family lived in New York City and Tulsa Oklahoma. Curtis Gordon Pepper died in 1930.
Socialite to Social Justice
Edwina's eldest son Curtis "Bill" Pepper enlisted in the war efforts. The 1950 census lists the widowed Edwina Pepper living with her son John (Jack), and his wife Eleanor, along with her oldest son, Curtis "Bill" Pepper, and his wife, (later renowned sculpture) Beverly Stoll Pepper in San Diego, California.
Advocacy & Conservation Efforts in West Virginia
Sometime in the 1940's Edwina Pepper began to obtain additional land holdings in Mingo County West Virginia for the purposes of forming a land conservancy. By the 1970's she had founded The John A Sheppard Ecological Reservation (JASMER) near Marrowbone Creek named for her father. Additionally, Pepper along with others founded The Big Laurel School (1976-1988) The Mountain Call magazine (1973-1979). She also facilitated a homesteading community on the reservation.
Death & Legacy
Ewina Pepper died Nov 11, 1988 at Appalachian Regional Hospital, South Williamson, Kentucky. The Lexington Herald- Leader wrote of Edwina Pepper's death at age 95 in 1988, "In 1977 consumer advocate Ralph Nader called Mrs Pepper an "unsung heroine".
The Lexington Herald- Leader continues: "As more and more land has been stripped or deep mined the inhabitants of these mountains have lost not only their homes but also their self worth. Mrs Pepper has tried to restore the feeling of community resourcefulness the inhabitants' forefathers knew."[1]
Edwina Pepper is buried near her home "The Knob" at JASMER.
Present Day Legacy
The Big Laurel Learning Center near Kermit West Virginia is located within JASMER and actively carries out environmental and educational community work.