November 26, 1940 - April 05, 2021
Sharon Linda Sheets, née Lee, passed away on Monday, April 5, 2021, at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado, at the age of 80 due to natural causes. She was born to Juanita and William Lee in Ardmore, Oklahoma on November 26, 1940.
Sharon was raised in Ardmore until she was nine years old when her father's job took the family to Oklahoma City, OK. When she was eight, her sister DeeAnne was born into the family, and brought much joy to Sharon's life.
In Oklahoma City, Sharon grew up singing in the choir at the First Baptist Church, and playing with her sister, DeeAnne. After graduating from Northwest Classen High School, she went on to study vocal performance at Oklahoma State University, where she met her late husband Ronald of 56 years on a blind date. They married shortly thereafter and were blessed with three sons, Gregory, Mark, and Jonathan, all born while Ron was attending medical school at the University of Oklahoma.
Directly upon completion of his residency, Ron was drafted into service during the Vietnam War as a Medical Officer where he served with a U.S. Naval Seabee Battalion as a Physician in Da Nang. During these trying times, Sharon and the boys moved back with her parents and hunkered down to await Ron's return. Once state side, Ron continued to serve as a Medical Officer in the Navy, where the family moved around to various Naval bases before finally settling down in Loveland, CO in 1967.
In Loveland, Ron and Sharon worked together to raise their family and build Ron's medical practice. When the boys were nearly finished with high school, Sharon retired to pursue the many volunteer opportunities Northern Colorado had to offer.
Sharon was a charter member of the Foothills Gateway Rehabilitation Center and served on the board for 20 years. She enjoyed singing at the local hospitals and entertaining underprivileged children. The Loveland Rotary Club surprised her when they gave her the Non-Rotarian Citizen of the Year award for her dedication to service. She also joined P.E.O. and enjoyed the many opportunities to get together with her P.E.O. sisters.
Throughout her life Sharon enjoyed singing for others whenever and wherever she could. She even turned her passion for singing into a business she named “Vintage Voices” which took her all over the front range to perform for the residences at Nursing and Assisted Living Homes. In 2006, Sharon was especially proud and honored to be invited to perform as a guest soloist with the Cor Meibion Talgarth Male Choir at the Brecon Cathedral in Brecon, Wales. Many will remember her for her lush alto voice.
While she was singing with the First United Methodist Church choir in Loveland, Sharon was given the opportunity to act in a local production. She didn't have any formal acting training, yet she was a natural and the opportunities began pouring in.
Sharon helped start the Loveland Community Theater (LCT) and participated with the Loveland Civic Music Association (LCMA), now known as the Loveland Performing Arts as well as the Loveland Music Guild (LMG). She was consumed with musical theater and indulged her passions by playing numerous roles in local productions. Sharon is most well known for her memorable performance in the title role of the LCMA production of "Mame", her first lead role. Her husband Ron and sons Greg and Jon performed in the musical along with her. She was voted "Favorite Local Performer" 10 years in a row by the Reporter Herald newspaper.
Eventually, Sharon progressed into professional acting, performing at many of the Northern Colorado dinner theaters that include; The Old Wayside Inn Dinner Theatre, Carousel Dinner Theatre, Midtown Arts, Candlelight Dinner Theatre as well as Union Colony Dinner Theatre.
She travelled to Korea to perform in a professional production that played in the Seoul, South Korea Olympic Stadium called “The Promise” along with her granddaughter Melanie and sister, DeeAnne.
Sharon believed in giving back to her community. She promoted and lead the annual Christmas sing-a-long at the Rialto Theater in Loveland for nearly 20 years. She also would put on shows to raise money for “Honor Flight”, an organization that takes WW II veterans to see the memorial in Washington DC.
In recent years, Sharon enjoyed researching her family genealogy. She was an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was proud to discover that she had not one but two ancestors who were Patriots of the American Revolution. She also traced her lineage back to an original settler of Jamestown, VA - Nicolas Marteau in 1622.
Sharon was lucky in love twice. She met her second partner of four years, Robert Jeremiasen, also on a blind date. They enjoyed travelling and making music together.
Sharon is survived by her son Gregory (Janet), granddaughter Melanie Sheets McKinley, and great-grandsons Cooper and Colin McKinley, son Mark, son Jonathan (Susan), and grandsons Aaron and Zachary Sheets, sister DeeAnne Meece (Michael) and their sons David and Matthew Meece, and three nieces, Linda Johnston, Cindy Johnston Woolbright, and Donna Johnston, and her committed partner of four years, Robert Jeremiasen. She is preceded in death by her husband Dr. Ronald Sheets, sister in-law Marilyn Johnston, and her parents William and Juanita Lee.
A memorial service for Sharon will be held at a future date, possibly in May or June.
Sharon's son Mark devoted 30 years of volunteer service to the Larimer County Search and Rescue Team. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to that organization in care of Kibbey-Fishburn Funeral Home, 1102 N. Lincoln Ave, Loveland, CO 80537.
