WINTHROP — Agnes I. (Cottrell) Shepard, 87, passed away peacefully Friday, Feb. 4, at Winthrop Manor.

She was born Agnes Irene Cottrell, Sept. 18, 1923, in Cumberland, R.I., the eldest daughter of Joel and Agnes Kilroy (Chauncey) Cottrell. She spent her youth in Rhode Island, survived the Great Hurricane in 1938, and graduated from Cumberland High School in 1941. She met her husband and love of her life, Donald Shepard, while she was at C.H.S. and he followed her to Lewiston, when her family moved.

When war was declared, Don enlisted in the Army, Fifth Armored Division, they married March 30, 1943, on Cape Cod and lived there briefly, prior to Don being shipped out. Agnes then moved back to Lewiston and worked in the lab and secretary/bookkeeper for Continental Mill as well as attending Bliss College. After the war, they remained in the Lewiston-Auburn area until 1963, when they moved to Winthrop. After his retirement in 1989, they moved to Manchester, where Agnes remained until the end of 2010.

Throughout Agnes’ life she was active in the Episcopal Church as a Sunday school teacher, in the Episcopal Church Women and always in the choir. She attended both Trinity Episcopal in Lewiston, St. Michael’s in Auburn and St. Andrew’s Mission when it was in Winthrop. Most recently, she was very active at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Augusta, where she only recently retired from the choir. She was active in Addie’s Attic, the Augusta Food Bank and worked diligently for St. Mark’s Home for Women, eventually retiring from their board of directors.

Agnes was well-known as the “Cookie Lady” for all the cookies she made for the church, friends and family. She also for many years reconditioned and sold jewelry year-round for the church’s jewelry table for the annual Christmas sale. Volunteering was an active part of her life from when she was still a child, from singing in church and nursing homes, to Girl Scout leader to volunteering at the local hospitals resulting in several awards stretching from the Red Cross in 1945 through the Volunteers of America – Spirit of America Award in 2006.

Agnes was a candlepin bowler until the early 1980s. She bowled at the Auburn Lanes and sometimes subbed for the Central Maine Power men’s team as well as being active in her own leagues. In the late 1960s and early 1970s she bowled professionally in Maine Candlepin Bowling sponsored tournaments, bringing home several awards including the Women’s (singles) Class A State Championship, team awards and along with her daughter, Merrie, the women’s doubles.

Agnes also enjoyed playing any card game from Bridge to Pinochle and with her skill as well as luck she usually won. She enjoyed gardening, painting and embroidery. She was a lifelong member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Pine Cone Chapter, Auburn, the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary in Winthrop, Fifth Armored Division and was active until recently in the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Phillips.

Agnes is survived by her daughter and husband, Merrie and Dennis Hanson of Winthrop; her daughter, Heather Wilkinson of Augusta; two grandsons, William L. Wilkinson IV and David Shepard Wilkinson, both of Boston; one brother and sister-in-law, Joel and Lou Cottrell of Ocean Springs, Miss., cousins, Helen Greene and her husband, Richard, of Orange City, Fla., and Alvin Macdonald Jr. of Plainville, Mass.; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was predeceased by her husband; one infant daughter; two sisters, Gloria Beauchesne of Windsor Locks, Conn., and Gladys Buchanan of Asheville, N.C.; one brother, Gordon Chauncey Cottrell of Boca Raton, Fla.; and cousin, Marie Cartier of Plainville, Mass.

Condolences to the family may be sent to www.khrfuneralhomes.com.

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