Passionate, fun-loving, compassionate, fearless and fearful
Sharol, called Sharon by everyone she met, shared a special bond with her niece, Dana. Only ten years apart in age, the two were more than just family: “Sharon was an aunt, a best friend, and mother-figure,” Dana said. The two were inseparable. Together, they camped, went stargazing, and wandered through antique stores. They were each other’s Secret Santa and celebrated every birthday together. When Dana moved away from the family in Alabama to Utah in 1989, the two spent every Sunday morning in an AOL chat.
On some of their antique store runs, Sharon found pieces of old furniture to refurbish and restore. She was a creative soul, spending hours perfecting her garden and making wire-wrapped jewelry to sell at craft fairs. Besides being a visual artist, Sharon also had a certain way with words; she brought life into every room she entered. She and Dana organized their family’s yearly Thanksgiving holiday in Oak Mountain, Alabama, complete with a cabin getaway, homemade feasts, hiking, and canoeing. Sharon loved the outdoors. Dana’s favorite memory of Sharon is from a rafting trip they took together on the Ocoee River. Halfway through the trip, there was an enormous rock jutting out of the water. Out of the dozen people in their rafting group, Dana, and Sharon were the only two in their group to accept the guide’s challenge to jump from the rock into the water.
“I jumped first and swam to shore,” Dana said. “Then Sharon jumped and started floating down the river. The guide yelled, ‘Swim! Swim to shore! I responded, ‘She can’t swim!’ Yes, this woman who spent nearly every weekend in a canoe couldn’t swim! Who else would jump off a rock in the middle of the river if they couldn’t swim?”
Sharon was just as fearless in the way she opened her heart to others. After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, she worked for most of her life at the Children’s Aid Society in Birmingham. “Though she had no children of her own, she helped place many children in adoptive and foster homes,” Dana shared. She was also devoted to her pet collies, though she often picked up a stray or two. Sharon never turned away from anyone in need.
Sharon’s closest friends were Tim, whom she had known for most of her life, and Diane and Elaine, who worked with her for years at the Children’s Aid Society. Tim’s death shattered her; Elaine’s was closely followed by the end of Sharon’s 30-plus years in recovery. Sharon always appeared composed, but when her anxiety surfaced, it took control. She struggled for 47 years with substance use disorder, and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Though other family members had also struggled with the same issues, Sharon was discouraged. She once told Dana, “I don’t know why I can’t be like the rest of you. You’ve had challenges in your life, but you’ve been able to bounce back. I don’t know why I can’t be like you.”
It was difficult for Dana to watch Sharon’s health decline and being unable to stop it. She tried everything, including phoning social services from where she lived in Utah to visit Sharon in Alabama, but Sharon refused their help. She passed away at age 65. Dana still wishes she could have done more.
“I miss my ‘best buddy,’” she said.
Sharon’s niece, Dana Worley, provided the information for this narrative.
June 15, 1952-August 19, 2017-Age 65
Portrait Artist: Clayton Conner
Narrative Writer: Angela Day
