I spent yrs. watching the "Lawn mower Man" pushing his mower all over Haltom, Richland, North Richland & Hurst. And, My heart broke today when I read of his passing. He was a special & precious man here on Earth doing whatever it took to help support himself & his Mother. He is now an Angel in Heaven...May he rest in peace.
Most people knew him as "the lawn mower man."
Charles Ray "Bo" Sheppard, who suffered brain damage in a childhood illness, spent most of his adult life mowing lawns to support himself and his mother after his father died.
"I've watched Bo push his lawn mower around Haltom City for at least 25 years," said the Rev. J.W. Parker, a family friend. "He was probably the most well-known unknown person in Haltom City."
Mr. Sheppard, 50, died Wednesday night when he was hit by a car as he walked in the 5200 block of Broadway Avenue. Police say it was an accident.
Friends and relatives said Mr. Sheppard was a happy, hardworking man despite his obstacles.
He was born Christmas Day 1958 to Herbert Charles and Mary Lucille Sheppard and spent his childhood in Shreveport, where he, five siblings and assorted cousins played ball and fished.
When he was about 5, Mr. Sheppard's fever spiked so high that he was in a coma, his mother, Lou Sheppard, said. When he woke up, he had to learn to walk and talk again, she said.
"He was classified retarded," she said. "But his daddy worked with him. When he started talking again, the first thing he said was, 'There's my daddy.' "
She said he never learned to read or write. But that didn't stop him from helping support her, especially after his father died 23 years ago.
His daily ritual was to get up, drink two cups of coffee and take off with his lawn mower, said Vicki McGlathery, fiancee of Mr. Sheppard's brother Jerry.
"He'd mow one or two lawns or whatever he had to do that day," McGlathery said. "He was 50 years old, pushing that lawn mower for miles. He walked to the store for his mama and worked to make sure they had everything they needed."
He loved kids, relatives said. His cousin Anna Kates said her 20-month-old twins followed him everywhere.
"They'd go to the back porch where Bo keeps his lawn mower and holler for Bo to push them on his mower or play with them," she said. "Those were his babies."
Most people knew him as "the lawn mower man."
Charles Ray "Bo" Sheppard, who suffered brain damage in a childhood illness, spent most of his adult life mowing lawns to support himself and his mother after his father died.
"I've watched Bo push his lawn mower around Haltom City for at least 25 years," said the Rev. J.W. Parker, a family friend. "He was probably the most well-known unknown person in Haltom City."
Mr. Sheppard, 50, died Wednesday night when he was hit by a car as he walked in the 5200 block of Broadway Avenue. Police say it was an accident.
Friends and relatives said Mr. Sheppard was a happy, hardworking man despite his obstacles.
He was born Christmas Day 1958 to Herbert Charles and Mary Lucille Sheppard and spent his childhood in Shreveport, where he, five siblings and assorted cousins played ball and fished.
When he was about 5, Mr. Sheppard's fever spiked so high that he was in a coma, his mother, Lou Sheppard, said. When he woke up, he had to learn to walk and talk again, she said.
"He was classified retarded," she said. "But his daddy worked with him. When he started talking again, the first thing he said was, 'There's my daddy.' "
She said he never learned to read or write. But that didn't stop him from helping support her, especially after his father died 23 years ago.
His daily ritual was to get up, drink two cups of coffee and take off with his lawn mower, said Vicki McGlathery, fiancee of Mr. Sheppard's brother Jerry.
"He'd mow one or two lawns or whatever he had to do that day," McGlathery said. "He was 50 years old, pushing that lawn mower for miles. He walked to the store for his mama and worked to make sure they had everything they needed."
He loved kids, relatives said. His cousin Anna Kates said her 20-month-old twins followed him everywhere.
"They'd go to the back porch where Bo keeps his lawn mower and holler for Bo to push them on his mower or play with them," she said. "Those were his babies."
I spent yrs. watching the "Lawn mower Man" pushing his mower all over Haltom, Richland, North Richland & Hurst. And, My heart broke today when I read of his passing. He was a special & precious man here on Earth doing whatever it took to help support himself & his Mother. He is now an Angel in Heaven...May he rest in peace.
Most people knew him as "the lawn mower man."
Charles Ray "Bo" Sheppard, who suffered brain damage in a childhood illness, spent most of his adult life mowing lawns to support himself and his mother after his father died.
"I've watched Bo push his lawn mower around Haltom City for at least 25 years," said the Rev. J.W. Parker, a family friend. "He was probably the most well-known unknown person in Haltom City."
Mr. Sheppard, 50, died Wednesday night when he was hit by a car as he walked in the 5200 block of Broadway Avenue. Police say it was an accident.
Friends and relatives said Mr. Sheppard was a happy, hardworking man despite his obstacles.
He was born Christmas Day 1958 to Herbert Charles and Mary Lucille Sheppard and spent his childhood in Shreveport, where he, five siblings and assorted cousins played ball and fished.
When he was about 5, Mr. Sheppard's fever spiked so high that he was in a coma, his mother, Lou Sheppard, said. When he woke up, he had to learn to walk and talk again, she said.
"He was classified retarded," she said. "But his daddy worked with him. When he started talking again, the first thing he said was, 'There's my daddy.' "
She said he never learned to read or write. But that didn't stop him from helping support her, especially after his father died 23 years ago.
His daily ritual was to get up, drink two cups of coffee and take off with his lawn mower, said Vicki McGlathery, fiancee of Mr. Sheppard's brother Jerry.
"He'd mow one or two lawns or whatever he had to do that day," McGlathery said. "He was 50 years old, pushing that lawn mower for miles. He walked to the store for his mama and worked to make sure they had everything they needed."
He loved kids, relatives said. His cousin Anna Kates said her 20-month-old twins followed him everywhere.
"They'd go to the back porch where Bo keeps his lawn mower and holler for Bo to push them on his mower or play with them," she said. "Those were his babies."
Most people knew him as "the lawn mower man."
Charles Ray "Bo" Sheppard, who suffered brain damage in a childhood illness, spent most of his adult life mowing lawns to support himself and his mother after his father died.
"I've watched Bo push his lawn mower around Haltom City for at least 25 years," said the Rev. J.W. Parker, a family friend. "He was probably the most well-known unknown person in Haltom City."
Mr. Sheppard, 50, died Wednesday night when he was hit by a car as he walked in the 5200 block of Broadway Avenue. Police say it was an accident.
Friends and relatives said Mr. Sheppard was a happy, hardworking man despite his obstacles.
He was born Christmas Day 1958 to Herbert Charles and Mary Lucille Sheppard and spent his childhood in Shreveport, where he, five siblings and assorted cousins played ball and fished.
When he was about 5, Mr. Sheppard's fever spiked so high that he was in a coma, his mother, Lou Sheppard, said. When he woke up, he had to learn to walk and talk again, she said.
"He was classified retarded," she said. "But his daddy worked with him. When he started talking again, the first thing he said was, 'There's my daddy.' "
She said he never learned to read or write. But that didn't stop him from helping support her, especially after his father died 23 years ago.
His daily ritual was to get up, drink two cups of coffee and take off with his lawn mower, said Vicki McGlathery, fiancee of Mr. Sheppard's brother Jerry.
"He'd mow one or two lawns or whatever he had to do that day," McGlathery said. "He was 50 years old, pushing that lawn mower for miles. He walked to the store for his mama and worked to make sure they had everything they needed."
He loved kids, relatives said. His cousin Anna Kates said her 20-month-old twins followed him everywhere.
"They'd go to the back porch where Bo keeps his lawn mower and holler for Bo to push them on his mower or play with them," she said. "Those were his babies."
