Obituary for Sharon Ann Smith
Sharon (Graham) Smith was born in Newark, NJ in 1946. She later married and moved to Roselle Park, where she resided most of her life. She attended grammar school in Montclair, proudly graduated from Essex County Vocational Technical school in 1964 and later studied at Union County College. She recently retired from Linker Equipment in Hillside, where she was the office manager, but was a great friend more than an employee. She began her employment there 1995. Prior to her employment at Linker, Sharon worked at Adler and Sons in Millburn for 25 years. Sharon was a worshipper at St Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church in Perkasie, Pa. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Ronald J. Smith in 2012, the love of her life.
Despite suffering the loss of her mother at the age of 16, and then her father just 2 years later, Sharon had an unwavering optimism. Perhaps losing her immediate family so young gave her a great appreciation of family and friends. She had a large network of cousins, friends, and neighbors from whom she took much enjoyment and love. Sharon especially enjoyed the children, who were like grandchildren to her. To her two closest cousins, Joan (Lindner) Benson and Virginia (Schneider) Ditzel, both of whom predeceased her, she was like a sister. She kept family stories well and honored those relationships fiercely. She had a zest for life and loved to travel, from going on cruises to camping, and always looked forward to her next adventure. Sharon enjoyed trips to the Borgata, especially with her best friend Sara. She was an animal lover, finding great comfort and joy in the many pets she adopted throughout her life.
Sharon never had a bad word to say about anyone and always looked for the best in people. She would be at every important life event and always found a way to be there when someone needed her most, whether they realized it or not. She wasn’t just a friend, an employee, or a woman you pass by. She was a neighbor, a wife, a godmother, a smile to cheer up your day, a book of jokes to make you laugh until your stomach hurt, a hug to warm your heart on a bad day, and a hand to hold when you were scared. She was a strong, beautiful, loyal, thoughtful, and vibrant woman who never admitted how down or tired she really was. She was as stubborn as a mule sometimes, but with nothing but everyone’s best interests at heart with the largest most compassionate soul. To everyone she has touched with her kindness and love, whether it was during a holiday celebration, on a cruise, at a casino, or out to dinner, she carried these traits and identities with her, and will always be remembered for all that she is and has done.
A Memorial service will be planned at a later date.
Despite suffering the loss of her mother at the age of 16, and then her father just 2 years later, Sharon had an unwavering optimism. Perhaps losing her immediate family so young gave her a great appreciation of family and friends. She had a large network of cousins, friends, and neighbors from whom she took much enjoyment and love. Sharon especially enjoyed the children, who were like grandchildren to her. To her two closest cousins, Joan (Lindner) Benson and Virginia (Schneider) Ditzel, both of whom predeceased her, she was like a sister. She kept family stories well and honored those relationships fiercely. She had a zest for life and loved to travel, from going on cruises to camping, and always looked forward to her next adventure. Sharon enjoyed trips to the Borgata, especially with her best friend Sara. She was an animal lover, finding great comfort and joy in the many pets she adopted throughout her life.
Sharon never had a bad word to say about anyone and always looked for the best in people. She would be at every important life event and always found a way to be there when someone needed her most, whether they realized it or not. She wasn’t just a friend, an employee, or a woman you pass by. She was a neighbor, a wife, a godmother, a smile to cheer up your day, a book of jokes to make you laugh until your stomach hurt, a hug to warm your heart on a bad day, and a hand to hold when you were scared. She was a strong, beautiful, loyal, thoughtful, and vibrant woman who never admitted how down or tired she really was. She was as stubborn as a mule sometimes, but with nothing but everyone’s best interests at heart with the largest most compassionate soul. To everyone she has touched with her kindness and love, whether it was during a holiday celebration, on a cruise, at a casino, or out to dinner, she carried these traits and identities with her, and will always be remembered for all that she is and has done.
A Memorial service will be planned at a later date.