Born in Fort Worth, Texas, he was the son of the late Hugh T. and Annie Sheppard McLaurin.  He is survived by his wife, Ruth Whitman Farlow McLaurin, a son Hugh McLaurin, of Westminster, and daughters, Marianne Finnigan and her husband Tom of Brooksville, Fla., and Laura Guajardo  and her husband Charles, of Wilmington, Del. 

He was adored grandfather of seven grandchildren and six great-grand children. He is also survived by a brother Shelton McLaurin  of Fern Park, Fla.,  and a sister Joyce Gubbins of Springfield, Va. There are numerous nieces and nephews.

McLaurin served in the United States Army during WWII, with the Army Signal Corps gaining rank of Lieutenant. After the War, he worked for National Security Agency, where he was in charge of Engineering and Maintenance. 

He was appointed to higher and higher levels of responsibility in the Computer and Research and Development organizations as he mastered the new computer technology and its application to the ever growing responsibilities of NSA’s mission. McLaurin retired in 1973 and moved to his home in Ocean Pines, where his love for organ music moved him to build his own organ. Once built, he taught himself to play, and after becoming proficient, he played the organ and taught Sunday school at the First Baptist Church in Berlin. 

He and his wife Ruth moved to Florida in 1999, enjoying all the spring training baseball games, their new found friends, and their church. They enjoyed traveling and Shep visited all 50 states. A donation in his memory may be made to: Clermont First Baptist Church, 5th and Montrose, Clermont, FL 34711.