Levi David Shepard

August 5, 2017 – August 26, 2025

Levi David Shepard was a brilliant little boy who loved space, volcanoes, and everything

science related.

After a nearly three-year battle fighting complications from hydrocephalus and a brain tumor,

Levi passed on August 26th, 2025, peacefully in the loving arms of his parents.

Levi is survived by his mother Jordan Soutiere, his father Jason Shepard, and his younger

sister Emelia Shepard. He is also survived by a large loving family including his Gigi, Laurie

Noyes, and his Pepé, Mark Noyes; his paternal grandparents Rick and Aide Shepard; and his

great grandparents, Ken and Ann Soutiere, Paulette and Mark Noyes, Betsy Holcomb, and Ivy

Shepard. In addition, Levi leaves behind many loving aunts, uncles, and other family members

who touched his life.

He is preceded in death by his namesake, his great grandfather David Holcomb.

To know Levi was to be blessed. He had a way of lighting up any room with his stories and

smiles. Even after his diagnosis, when hospitalized, he would walk all the way to the front

desk of the UVM children's hospital to smile at and flirt with the nurses, who lovingly dubbed

the desk "Levi's flirtation station." He was full of wonder, love, and joy. He was gentle, kind,

and so very silly, a true boy who loved bathroom humor and Spongebob. He was a resilient

fighter to the very end, until his small body grew tired and could not take anymore.

The Earth is a little bit dimmer with his absence, as it is now missing one of its brightest stars.

The family will hold a private memorial service to allow them space to grieve, but a public

reception to honor and celebrate Levi's shining light will be open to everyone and held

September 21st from 1 – 4 pm at the Elks Lodge on North Avenue, in Burlington, Vermont.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Levi's name to the

Raymond A. Wood Foundation (https://www.rawoodfoundation.org/make-a-donation/), or

the University of Vermont Children's Hospital

(https://give.uvmhealth.org/events/509/donate), in his honor. In addition, the family would

like to thank the staff and nurses at the UVM Children's Hospital for their wonderful care and

treatment of Levi during his many hospitalizations and his final days there, as well as the

palliative team and child life specialists who were a source of support for the family during

our hardest days.

Levi will never be forgotten, and we will always find him in the soft glow of the nighttime stars

and the brilliant warmth of his favorite daytime star, the Sun.