Douglas Mills Shepherd
May 6, 1974 — October 11, 2025
Douglas (Doug) Mills Shepherd, 51, passed away in the first hour of Saturday, October 11, 2025 in his own home in the presence of his family after a courageous battle with cancer.
Doug was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois on May 6, 1974. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois in 1998 and went on to receive a Master of Divinity with a concentration in homiletics from Trinity Evangelical Seminary in Deerfield, Illinois in 2003. Doug worked in hospice as a spiritual care and bereavement coordinator for a few years before moving on to chaplaincy work for a number of years in a hospital setting. Early 2021 Doug began working for SCL Health, Saint Vincent Hospital in Montana as a regional mission leader. Doug had certifications in critical incident stress management and bioethics.
Christmas of 1996 Doug answered the call of Jesus in his life. During the summers of his years in seminary, Doug served as a camp counselor at Camp Victory in Minnesota. In the autumn of 2004, he met his future wife, Ruth (Ruthie) Sadler, at Berean Community Church in Rochester, Minnesota. Doug and Ruth were married at the same church in July of 2004. Easter 2007 Douglas was joyfully received in the Catholic Church in Cannon Falls, MN. Douglas and his family have been members of Saint Anthony Catholic Church in Laurel since their move to Montana in December of 2020. Doug and Ruthie have lived in Minnesota, Alaska, Illinois, Washington, Wisconsin, and Montana.
Doug is known by those who knew him as a man of integrity, abiding joy, constant gratitude, exuberant faith, persistent discipleship. He had a deep love of Scripture, an evangelistic nature, a sincere heart, and a steadfast trust in Divine Providence. He was quick to smile, laugh, and engage in childlike wonder. Doug enjoyed time his family, camping, skiing, theological and philosophical reading and conversation, poetry, drumming, and big bowels of cereal before bed.
Douglas is survived by his wife, Ruth; children Gabriel, Luke, Emliy, and Maximilian; his parents, Kenneth Shepherd and Virginia (Burnett) Shepherd and sister Julie.
A visitation and vigil will be held at Michelotti-Sawyers Mortuary in Billings, Montana on Friday, October 24. The visitation will be from 5 to 7 pm, with the vigil at 7 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church in Laurel, Montana on Saturday, October 25 at 10 am. The Mass will be preceded by the Rosary at 9:30 am and followed by the burial at the Laurel Cemetery. A luncheon will be served in Saint Anthony’s parish hall following the burial.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Saint Vincent de Paul Society in Billings, Montana or to Holy Resurrection Monastery in Saint Nazianz, Wisconsin.
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