Early McDonald's Pioneer Dies

Richard Shepard was best known as the father of state chief justice Randall Shepard and as a pioneer of some 13 McDonalds in Kentucky and Indiana. His widow Dorothy remembers the risk of opening their first McDonald's in 1959 and the subsequent sheer luck of being on the right horse. He passed away in Florida at 87.

Richard Shepard's wife said the success of McDonald's surprised her and her husband, since starting a franchise was such a risk—especially when no one had heard of the product. - Evansville Courier & Press