Dorothy Wall Medlin

Dorothy Wall Medlin, 95, of El Dorado, Arkansas, passed away after a brief illness on February 26, at her home with her daughter, Nancy, at her side. A memorial service was held at First Baptist Church on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 11 a.m. Reception and visitation will be held at the Christian Life Center following the service. She was born October 28, 1920, in El Dorado to May Kelley and Louis Andrew Wall. She lived here all her life, graduating from El Dorado High School in 1938 and from Baylor University in 1942. When Dottie was 93 her son, Drew, also a Baylor graduate took her to Waco for a homecoming reunion. She was proud to climb to the top of the Baylor football stadium to cheer on her team. Dottie was an avid sports fan and loved following her Arkansas Razorbacks and St. Louis Cardinals. At birth she was enrolled in the cradle roll department of First Baptist Church and at the age of nine was baptized in the church. There she spent most of her life serving the church as a Sunday School teacher of young married adults, singing in both the adult choir and senior adult choir, directing the Children's Choir, and playing handbells. She served in the Baptist Women organization within the church and at the state level, and was a founding member of FBC's prayer ministry. It was always a great joy for Dottie to see many of the young people she taught as children and young adults now actively serving within the church. Dottie was active in her community as well, serving as a Boy Scout den mother, president of Hugh Goodwin PTA and president of the South Arkansas Arts Center Auxiliary. She loved her time serving as chairman of the Red Cross safety program and working to teach adults to read using the Laubach method through the Union County Literacy Society. She was a member of the El Dorado Service League, the Pierian Club, and served on the board of the South Arkansas Symphony. On January 17, 1947, Dottie married Dr. Julius Kelly Sheppard, III. After Dr. Sheppard's death in 1963, Dottie married T. Shad Medlin in 1967. Preceding her in death were her parents, her husbands, and her granddaughter, Mary Carol Sheppard; Survivors include her children, Dr. Julius Kelly Sheppard IV (Susan) of Sherman, Texas; Louis Andrew Sheppard (Suzy) of El Dorado; Tandy Medlin Jarvis (Dr. David) of Nashville, Tennessee; Dr. James Meek Sheppard (Cecile) of El Dorado; Frank Courtney Sheppard (Debra) of Little Rock; Marty Medlin Kennedy (David) of Nashville, Tennessee; Nancy Kelly Hall of El Dorado. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren, Ann Sheppard Marler, Carol Sheppard Kaplan (Kevin), Kelly Sheppard Reifel (Ross), Dr. Kevin Michael Young (Shannon), Brett David Jarvis (Melissa), Brian Tandy Jarvis, Julius Kelly Sheppard, V (Nicole), James Meek Sheppard, II (Stephanie), Whitney Clay Sheppard, Dorothy Claire Sheppard, Grace Sheppard Walthall (Will), Matthew David Kennedy, James Tyler Kennedy, Julia Hall Spencer (John) and 21 great-grandchildren. Memorials may be sent to First Baptist Church, 200 W. Main Street. El Dorado, Arkansas 71730. An online guest registry will be available at www.youngsfuneralhome.com.