Rick Shupe

James Rickey “Rick” Shupe was born on April 15, 1954, to Mary and James Shupe in Ft. Monroe, Virginia and passed away August 26, 2024, in Lubbock, Texas following a lengthy illness.

Rick grew up an Army brat, living in Virginia, Germany, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. He graduated from high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1972. When information about his education was requested rarely was there enough room for it all,  but the short version is that he has two master’s degrees and was 15 hours shy of completing his PhD.

Although Rick had many job titles over the years, he liked the term “Sheepdog,” which came from Retired U.S. Army Colonel Dave Grossman’s book, On Combat. “Sheepdog” refers to those in our society who serve as the protectors. Rick was a police officer, a training officer, taught Criminal Justice at Wayland Baptist University, a software trainer to law enforcement departments and taught LTC courses as well. Later in his career, he worked in the Human Research Protection Program at Texas Tech University and was a caseworker for Adult Protective Services in the Lubbock area. He was a reserve officer with the  Idalou Police Department for over 10 years and then went part-time active duty focused on policies and training.

Rick enjoyed guns, winning many awards for his marksmanship. He began playing guitar in bands at the age of 13 and continued playing in the Praise band at Aldersgate. He played golf, and recently began enjoying the RV life in Alto, New Mexico. He and Brenda rescued several dogs over the years from Dusty Puddles Dachshund Rescue. Heidi and Mollie are left to mourn the loss and his never ending treats.

Rick is survived by his wife, Brenda Wicker Shupe, whom he married on July 7, 2007. He is also survived by his brother and sister of North Carolina, David and Hilda Shupe and Susan Gore.

Other survivors include Brenda’s two sons and wives, Jordan and Casey Addison, of Lamesa, and Trey and Jamie Addison of Lubbock and his grandchildren, Stormie, Bennet, Jennings, Austin, Witt, Nathan and Everly, who called him Gunny. He will be missed by many other family members and friends.

A celebration of life is planned on Saturday, August 31 at 10 am at Aldersgate Church, 10306 Indiana Ave. Lubbock, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Texas Fallen Officer Foundation, texasfof.org, 7700 Windrose Ave. Suite G300, Plano, TX 75024 or Coach Wicker Battlin’ Billie Scholarship Fund c/o Security State Bank, PO Box 471 Fredericksburg, TX 78624 or Love the Hub, lovethhub.org, 10306 Indiana Avenue, Lubbock, TX 79423.

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