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blueeowynThis is rough to type. I worked with Sharon for around 24 years which is just under half of both of our lives. First she was a GA in the office I used to work in, then a staff member, then my boss for 15 years, then uberboss for the last 7. I had planned to wait until the day of the funeral to write but I couldn't sleep so here I am.
Sharon was one of those people who could be described as the King in the King's Stilts. When you work, you really work and when you play you really play.
Once we moved to the current department, she would bring her dogs (first Jack, then Simon, and more recently Harry) to work and they would wander around the office and ask for attention (big dog leans and thwapping tails). When she was presenting at a regional conference she was coming straight from vacation and she needed someone to watch the dog while she spoke. I had that honor and he and I were in the back of the room while she did her speech (he even had is own nametag). My mom was asked once to dog-sit Harry when he was just a puppy and she needed to go to meetings in another building and he was not at all happy being left alone (and not much happier with someone he didn't know very well but it was better than alone).
She was supportive of friends, family, co-workers and the university. Her inteligence and ability to be able to really scan the landscape and see changes in trajectory so that we could be ready to adapt to the changing environments was impressive. Her focus on us as individual people with individual needs and interests was huge. She led us through a massive undertaking of redoing multiple systems in multiple ways. While she wasn't able to prevent some changes, she did mitigate their effects on us.
She was generous and when she was my direct boss, provided thank you gifts that were very me (vs. generic). Obviously for the last couple of years, the end of year gifts were more generic but she made sure that everyone got them ... even brand new people. She supported you as a person not just a generic employee and did that with everyone. She understood that while the work we do is important, it isn't a life-or-death type of job (no babies are going to die because of this) and that perspective is so rare and such a gift.
She loved going to Broadway (and got Hamilton tickets before they were hot) and Bruce Springteen concerts (one reason I wanted to see Blinded by the Light was her love of Bruce). She told about being at Macy's when the cast of Kinky Boots went shopping after a bunch of people wanted to boycott the store because of allowing them in the Thanksgiving Parade. Before she got so sick (and the pandemic) she would go sailing and be so relaxed and alive. She would tell amusing stories about the dogs (like when Harry went and sat where his crate lived after she had packed it for his first trip).
She continued our first Uberboss's tradition of working to create an office family with pot-lucks, picnics, chili-cookoffs, and some truly amazing office retreats where we worked hard on getting an office plan together for whatever we were dealing with but also had a fun component (bowling was interesting). She believed in celebrating people for their work and their personal things (weddings, births, graduations, etc.).
Of all the people in the office, she was one who honestly lived one of the healthiest lifestyles so it seems so wrong and unfair that such a health, big-hearted person would be taken down by her heart. She did everything she could to protect her family and friends as she got sicker. My understanding is that she had all the documents taken care of, all of her wishes crystal clear and while she was hoping that this most recent procedure would move her toward getting back on the list, she made it easier for the family to be OK with taking her off lifesupport when things really didn't go as planned.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that she had helped choose the music for her celebration of life.
I hope that if there is a heaven that Jack & Simon were there waiting for her and that she is at peace with blue skies, gentle waves and a nice boat while waiting (patiently) for her partner and Harry to join her eventually.
Sharon was one of those people who could be described as the King in the King's Stilts. When you work, you really work and when you play you really play.
Once we moved to the current department, she would bring her dogs (first Jack, then Simon, and more recently Harry) to work and they would wander around the office and ask for attention (big dog leans and thwapping tails). When she was presenting at a regional conference she was coming straight from vacation and she needed someone to watch the dog while she spoke. I had that honor and he and I were in the back of the room while she did her speech (he even had is own nametag). My mom was asked once to dog-sit Harry when he was just a puppy and she needed to go to meetings in another building and he was not at all happy being left alone (and not much happier with someone he didn't know very well but it was better than alone).
She was supportive of friends, family, co-workers and the university. Her inteligence and ability to be able to really scan the landscape and see changes in trajectory so that we could be ready to adapt to the changing environments was impressive. Her focus on us as individual people with individual needs and interests was huge. She led us through a massive undertaking of redoing multiple systems in multiple ways. While she wasn't able to prevent some changes, she did mitigate their effects on us.
She was generous and when she was my direct boss, provided thank you gifts that were very me (vs. generic). Obviously for the last couple of years, the end of year gifts were more generic but she made sure that everyone got them ... even brand new people. She supported you as a person not just a generic employee and did that with everyone. She understood that while the work we do is important, it isn't a life-or-death type of job (no babies are going to die because of this) and that perspective is so rare and such a gift.
She loved going to Broadway (and got Hamilton tickets before they were hot) and Bruce Springteen concerts (one reason I wanted to see Blinded by the Light was her love of Bruce). She told about being at Macy's when the cast of Kinky Boots went shopping after a bunch of people wanted to boycott the store because of allowing them in the Thanksgiving Parade. Before she got so sick (and the pandemic) she would go sailing and be so relaxed and alive. She would tell amusing stories about the dogs (like when Harry went and sat where his crate lived after she had packed it for his first trip).
She continued our first Uberboss's tradition of working to create an office family with pot-lucks, picnics, chili-cookoffs, and some truly amazing office retreats where we worked hard on getting an office plan together for whatever we were dealing with but also had a fun component (bowling was interesting). She believed in celebrating people for their work and their personal things (weddings, births, graduations, etc.).
Of all the people in the office, she was one who honestly lived one of the healthiest lifestyles so it seems so wrong and unfair that such a health, big-hearted person would be taken down by her heart. She did everything she could to protect her family and friends as she got sicker. My understanding is that she had all the documents taken care of, all of her wishes crystal clear and while she was hoping that this most recent procedure would move her toward getting back on the list, she made it easier for the family to be OK with taking her off lifesupport when things really didn't go as planned.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that she had helped choose the music for her celebration of life.
I hope that if there is a heaven that Jack & Simon were there waiting for her and that she is at peace with blue skies, gentle waves and a nice boat while waiting (patiently) for her partner and Harry to join her eventually.