Phillip W. Shepherd, Sr., 77, highly respected Dallas architect, died July 11, 2019, with his family by his side at Presbyterian Hospital. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer in January and fought a valiant fight.

He was born on May 29, 1942, his mother’s birthday, in Copperhill, Tenn., to Warren L. and Helen King Shepherd while his father was in the Army. When World War II was over, his dad came to Graham, where Phil and his mom were with relatives and the family decided to stay.

This is where he was raised and attended school making many lifelong friendships. The family spent many enjoyable years at Possum Kingdom Lake which was always one of his favorite places, as was Yosemite National Park where he worked during summers while in college. He taught his children the same love for these destinations.

All the family spent many enjoyable times at the Shepherd PK lake house he designed in Gaines Bend; his Dad was so proud to have built the house his son designed. The memories from the Shepherd Angostura summer home near Tres Ritos, N.M., will always be cherished.

Phil developed an interest in architecture from working with his father in his construction business. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a BA in Architecture in 1966; shortly thereafter he married Frances Rogers and moved to Dallas to start his distinguished career.

His first job was with Beran & Shelmire and he later joined Harwood K. Smith & Partners where he quickly became Vice President and was made Partner. Upon leaving HKS, he started a career on his own until teaming with another HKS architect. They formed Shepherd & Boyd which grew into one of the largest firms in the Dallas area with services including architecture, interior design, and planning.

The firm received national recognition for many of their design projects specializing in office buildings, mid and high-rise residential, retail centers, luxury hotels and financial institutions. He was so proud to have designed and completed work on the Graham Library and several financial institutions in his hometown of Graham where he was able to spend time with his parents and reconnect with many lifelong friends.

When his partnership with Boyd ended, he formed Shepherd and Partners which continued to be a leader in the industry. His high-profile projects are too many to mention, having been registered in 15 states and having offices in numerous cities including Beverly Hills and Phoenix with projects throughout the US and as far as Abu Dhabi, Russia, Canada, and Australia.
Two of the most notable Dallas projects were his involvement in the concept and design for the iconic Mansion on Turtle Creek as Designer and Project Architect with Caroline Rose Hunt and the Sands family in 1981 and The Crescent, a joint venture between Rosewood Properties, Inc. and Phillip W. Shepherd. His role in the Crescent was Project Architect in conjunction with Johnson and Burgee, NYC Design Architects.

One of his last notable projects was One Uptown on McKinney, a collaboration between PWS Architects and Humphrey & Partners. Shepherd’s work has been published in the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, Dallas Morning News, and the Dallas Business Journal, and he received numerous awards for design excellence.

He was preceded in death by his parents Helen and Warren Shepherd and four special friends: Bobby Bridewell, Jimmy Guinn, Nauman Scott, and Tom Jones. Phil was a loving and devoted Father and is survived by two sons, Phillip Shepherd Jr. (Christine Jensen) and Barrett Shepherd, and two daughters Stephanie Shepherd and Francesca Shepherd, brother Steve Shepherd (Oliver Roberts), as well as Frances Tompkins the mother of his children, all of Dallas, and several cousins.

The family would like to acknowledge special dear friends Allie Beth Allman, Dr. Jon and Julia Ousley, David Pemberton, J. C. Sterquell, Alina Norman, Darla Chick Brodsky, and Joanna Wood. Honorary Pallbearers are his Old and In the Way group of friends who had lunch one Friday each month for 37 years: Baxter Brinkman, Dick Mullen, Preston Reynolds, J. Emmett Smith, Steve Sands, J. C. Sterquell, Buzz Tompkins, David Tripplehorn, Gary Weber, Daryl Snadon, and Chuck Wilson. Phil was a long-time member of Brookhollow Country Club.
A special thanks goes out to Jack Knox and the Café Pacific staff; Phil held court there most days around happy hour with his wide circle of friends. Next time you are there, raise a toast in his honor.

Services will be held Saturday, July 27, at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church with Reverend Greg Pickens officiating at 2 p.m., located at 8011 Douglas Ave., Dallas, TX 75225. Private interment will be at Sparkman Hillcrest. Donations may be made in his name to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (pancan.org.) Remembrances and condolences can be expressed by visiting www.ariacremation.com.