Editor’s Note: Western North Carolina is rich with untold stories—many resting quietly in local cemeteries. In this Tombstone Tales series, we explore the lives of people from our region’s past whose legacies, whether widely known or nearly forgotten, helped shape the place we call home.

FLETCHER, N.C. — Beneath the shade of trees in Calvary Episcopal Churchyard rests a man remembered as much for his service in uniform as for his devotion to animals. The gravestone of Dr. Edward Lindsay Shuford, D.V.M., is inscribed with a simple phrase that speaks volumes: “He loved all creatures great and small.”

Born April 21, 1895, in Hickory, North Carolina, Edward Lindsay Shuford, Jr. grew up in a prominent family rooted in the foothills of Catawba County. Drawn to animals and their care, he pursued veterinary studies at North Carolina State and Kansas City School of Veterinarian Medicine.

By the 1920s, Shuford had settled in Asheville, where he began practicing as a veterinarian. His expertise extended into public service as well. By the late 1930s, he was serving as a Captain in the Veterinary Corps of the North Carolina National Guard, a role that placed him in charge of the health of animals that remained essential to the state’s transportation and agricultural work.

Beyond his veterinary practice and military service, Shuford became a trusted community voice. He regularly contributed columns to the Asheville-Citizen Times. His writing offered advice on caring for both livestock and pets, providing guidance to farmers and families who relied on animals for livelihood and companionship.

His years of service with the National Guard’s Veterinary Corps added another dimension to his career. In a time when horses and mules were vital to transportation and military readiness, veterinarians like Shuford ensured that the animals remained healthy and able to serve. It was a calling that blended medicine, community service and compassion for the creatures that sustained daily life.

When Dr. Shuford died on March 2, 1986, at the age of 90, he left behind a legacy defined by both professional excellence and personal kindness. His headstone in Calvary Episcopal Churchyard offers a single line that says more than any résumé could: “He loved all creatures great and small.”

In the silence of the Calvary Chapel churchyard, his epitaph still speaks, a lasting tribute to a man who built a legacy of care for animals and people alike.

Visit Calvary Episcopal Church Cemetery in Fletcher, North Carolina