She made many friends and was very well liked by her coworkers. She prided herself in her work and developed her hard work ethic from growing up on a farm in Kansas. While she was proud to earn a living in the medical field, her true passion was realized in the hours spent in her garden. She was an avid vegetable gardener and enjoyed gifting live decorative plants to her family, friends, as well as simple acquaintances. Shortly after the light of day had failed her, the floodlights came on and she could still be found tending to her plants earning her the oft-used nickname, "The Midnight Gardener."

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She made her house the rock of the community in that small corner of the Auburndale neighborhood in Topeka. That little slice of Americana provided a utopia for the children growing up in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Sharon was known by many as, "mom," whether or not they had any relation to her. The neighborhood mother she certainly was, as most neighborhood kids opted to come play in her backyard with her five children. She was happy to accommodate all the children by planting cherry tomatoes and snap peas which they were welcome to eat right off the plant. She was always an advocate for healthy and natural living.

 

Even after all her children had grown and had children of their own, she strove for that same neighborhood cohesion for her grandchildren. At some point in time, she lived either a few doors down, or just around the corner from all of her grandchildren, with only one exception. No matter, because no road, river, mountain, continent, nor the entire Pacific Ocean can do anything to diminish a grandmother's love.

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She was a person to be admired and a matriarch who will be sorely missed. She lost her one true love far too early. She must have known her own time was near because she was very peaceful and content in her final hours. Her innate, yet endearing stubbornness softened into a charming glow as she delighted in the family visiting her in the hospital and video chatting with her on the phone. She passed peacefully in the early evening hours of January 24th, 2020, 42 years and 1 week after the passing of her husband Wayne D. Jarvis. She was surrounded by family who loved her deeply.