Shonna Lynn Shepherd Alva

The world lost a beautiful soul on August 30, 2021 when Shonna Lynn Shepherd Alva passed away in her home in West Jordan, Utah. She was born February 14, 1947 in Salt Lake City to Daniel Owen Shepherd and Lillian Marylene Epperson (Gannon) as the third of five children. She was busy busy busy and sharp as a tack. She married Donald Eugene Woodward on October 3, 1964. They had three beautiful daughters together before they were divorced. She married Alan Adair Baxter on August 11, 1972 and the two of them raised her daughters. They loved nothing better than going fishing. Shonna loved her fishing and, after her divorce from Alan, she shared this love with her last husband, Daniel Donald Alva, whom she married on March 19, 1985. They kept a boat in a slip at Flaming Gorge and outfitted it with all the fancy fish slaying technologies.

Shonna’s family was the most important thing to her. She was fiercely proud and protective of them. A hug was not just a hug for Shonna. Each hug was an opportunity to tell that person how much she loved them, how proud she was of them, and how much she believed in their ability to conquer life’s challenges. She would look at that person, ask them important questions and truly listen to their responses. She showered each person with love through her words, actions, gifts and anything else needed, including the shoes off her own feet. She loved to get together with her family for holidays, birthdays and she strove through the years to create these events every day. These events were jumbled with laughter, craziness, great food and all the beautiful rainbow of things that make up a family. In a water fight there was no safe place, as mom would not hesitate to bring the hose into the house. And if you ever wondered who ran the Jerry Seiner Chevrolet flag up the flagpole at Larry Miller Chevrolet in the middle of the night, it was Shonna and Danny Alva. Yup.

Shonna was a passionate patriot. Her social media screen name was Swordmaiden Truthseeker and her motto was “Fighting For TRUTH, Justice and the American Way!” Her favorite quote was “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” She was involved in the caucus process at the local and state level. She felt that the Constitution is an inspired document of utmost importance. Mom’s favorite personality trait was honesty. She strove always to be scrupulously honest in every way. She tried always to do "the right thing" as God would desire it to be.

Shonna had an insatiable appetite for truth and knowledge. She was, and we believe she still is, passionately searching for knowledge of her loved ones and the world around us. She spent hours educating herself, avidly researching with a skeptical eye and with the goal of protecting and educating herself and her family.

Shonna truly cared about people, not money. She did not believe bad things said about others. She loved inspiring others to great heights and encouraging others, even a collector or telemarketer on the phone, and shared secrets of success freely with others hoping to make their life better. She believed in the desire and capacity of others to be their best self, always. She could visualize their best self to share back to them, inspiring them with her vision and intuition. Her desire was always for their success, even if it meant at a personal cost to her. And it did cost her.

Survived by her three daughters, her pride and joy, her “girls”, Wendy Michelle Griggs (Michael), Kimberley Sue Robinson (DeVon), and Katherine Yvette Owen; 10 grandchildren, Ryan Rasmussen, Matthew Hill, Joshua Rasmussen, Destiny Griggs, Chase Robinson, Caitlin Kremer, Astrea Vigil, Andrew Owen, Skyler Owen, and Samuel Owen. She is also survived by seven great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by her parents, brothers D’Owen Shepherd and Robert Gannon, and sister Lori Jean Gannon Santiago.

A viewing is scheduled on Monday September 13th at 6:00 PM MST at Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Home - 4760 S State St Murray, UT. Funeral services will be held the following day Tuesday September 14th at 10:00 AM at the Westbrook Third Ward Church 6500 South Dixie Drive in West Jordan. A viewing will be held beforehand at 10 AM with the funeral services starting at 11 AM. Internment at Crescent Cemetery. In lieu of donations to charity, send flowers. She loved flowers! These can be sent through Jenkins-Soffe.