Mrs. Irene Shepherd Ashley, age 74, of West Jefferson, died Thursday morning, January 21, 2010 at Watauga Medical Center in Boone A private service will be held at a later date. Mrs. Ashley was born in Ashe County on November 26, 1935 to the late Todd and Martha Marie Lambert Shepherd. She was a Seamstress. She is survived by a son, Michael Johnson, of Jefferson; a daughter, Vickie Milam and husband, Thomas, of Fleetwood; two brothers, TD Shepherd and Herman Shepherd, of Jefferson; two sisters, Mary Ledbetter, of Mocksville and Pat Phipps, of Maryland; a granddaughter, Stephanie Milam; several nieces & nephews also survive . Memorials may be made to the Ashe County Humane Society, 1175 Old Hwy 16, Jefferson, NC 28640.