Sharon Rae Stewart

Sharon Rae Stewart was born on January 24th, 1942 in Dayton, Ohio, to Hal & Theodora Simpson. She was raised in the nearby small town of Franklin, Ohio. She had a younger sister, Ellen, with whom she was very close throughout her entire life. Although Ellen was nearly 2 years younger, she was the taller of the two, so many folks assumed they were twins. When the girls were little, Mama made them many matching dresses. Ellen recalls that some of the dresses were even made from feed sack bags. Mama was resourceful and the material from the feed sacks were durable and soft. She decorated them with appliqued flowers and animals. In her later years, Mama remarried and Sharon & Ellen became big sisters to younger brother, Dale, and sister, Cindy. To this day, Ellen, Dale and Cindy still reside in or nearby Franklin. Sharon also had an older brother, Joe, from her Mother's previous marriage before she was married to her father.

When Sharon was 18, she married Joseph Haas. They soon had 4 children – Joey, Therese, Kevin and Gabrielle. When the kids were little, the family lived in one of the oldest house in all of Franklin – a beautiful 4-story white home high on a hill. During the winter, the kids would play in the snow, sliding down the hill in back of the home, building snowmen and having snowball fights. However, they did not have to walk miles in the snow to get to school as they lived just down the street from the elementary school. Sharon worked out of the home as a bookkeeper doing taxes, while Dad worked at his Father's construction company building houses. In addition to raising 4 active children, Sharon was also a leader of daughter Therese's Brownie Troup. During the summer, the family went camping at Dale Hollow Reservoir in Kentucky. Sharon loved taking long walks in the woods, enjoying all the beauty that nature had to offer, campfires, and watching the kids catch fireflies in jars.

In 1973, the Haas family packed up and moved to California where Grandpa Joe Haas had recently relocated to after selling his business in Ohio. They settled in Sacramento where Sharon continued with her bookkeeping jobs and eventually worked for the State of California until she retired. During the trip to California, and other cross-country trips, Sharon made a point of stopping at many points of interest, even if it meant a day's delay. This included lots of Stuckey's Roadside Restaurants. She wanted to make sure her children saw and experienced many of the wonders America had to offer. Some of the famous landmarks they saw were Mt. Rushmore, Carlsbad Caverns, Little Big Horn, Salt Lake Flats, Route 66, and many others. She collected spoons from so many locations, many of which were purchased at the Stuckey's. She proudly displayed her collection in large framed holders in the dining room of their home.

As the children grew and left home to begin lives and families of their own, she later met Bill Stewart while she worked at H&R Block as a bookkeeper. Sharon and Joe had previously divorced, and the companionship of Bill was a breath of fresh air. They eventually married and Sharon became the loving Step-Mom to Bill's 3 adult children, David, Kathy and John. So between the 2 of them they outnumbered the Brady Bunch by one. As the Haas kids and the Stewart kids began to have children of their own, Sharon became the most loving and caring Grandma any grandchild could ever hope for. Sharon had 10 Grandchildren in all. Christmas, Easter and other holidays at the Stewart home were festive and noisy with all those grandchildren, but Sharon always made sure everyone who was there felt welcome and loved. There was a tradition every 4th of July after the BBQ of sitting on blankets in the front yard watching the store-bought fireworks in the street. Almost every year the wind seemed to kick up just in time for the fireworks extravaganza. Sharon made sure everyone got a sweater if needed and the little ones stayed up on the lawn. Bill and Sharon also loved to go to Gray Eagle every August with several other family members. There Sharon enjoyed the fresh mountain air, wildlife, and spending time with family and friends.

As time went on, Sharon also became a Great Grandma and she enjoyed every minute of time she spent with each and every one of them. She had a total of 6 Great Grandchildren. After Bill had passed in 2011, her Granddaughter, Samantha along with husband, Ryan, and son, Braydon, lived with Sharon to help out with cooking and cleaning and to keep her company. She especially enjoyed watching Braydon grow into a toddler and then a preschooler. This little boy was extremely fortunate to have shared this special time with his Great Grandma.

During Sharon's final days, many of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren spent time with her visiting and holding her hands. Many kisses and I love you's were said. And many tears were shed as we knew we would all have to say one final goodbye to this wonderful, sweet woman whom we all had the honor and privilege to know and love. We will all greatly miss her kindness, friendship and hugs.