Sharon L Grant, 66, passed away May 1, 2004, at Careage of Whidbey in Coupeville, following a lengthy hospitalization from injuries sustained while working for the Department of Health and Social Services. She was born March 26, 1938 in Tacoma to her birth parents, Robert and Marge Brock.
Sharon was adopted in 1946 by Hans and Gudrun Iverson. She was raised in Bellevue and graduated from Bellevue High School. In the summer of 1953, while playing softball, she met her husband to be, Robert E. Grant, a decorated U.S. Army medic who had recently returned from battlefield service in the Korean War. Three years later, on Oct. 11, 1956, Sharon and Bob were married in Chicopee, Mass.
They began their lives together in Indian Orchard near Springfield, Mas. Bob was in the U.S. Air Force at the time and his position allowed them to travel extensively, both throughout the United States and overseas. The Air Force took them to California, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Washington state (while Bob was stationed in the Republic of Vietnam), New Jersey and New South Wales, Australia. In 1963, while in Puerto Rico, Sharon traveled to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In 1975, while living in Australia she traveled to the states of Victoria and South Australia, and in 1976 to New Zealand, making many new and lasting friendships along the way.
Sharon was employed by the Washington State DSHS as a Home Support Specialist in Child Protective Services. She was the local office representative for the Interagency Children’s Counsel. She was directly responsible for matching families in need with donations from Island Thrift, was the liaison for social workers and was a strong advocate for families. Sharon worked on the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) project, which involved the creation of special teams for the high-risk cases to assist clients by empowering them to make positive changes in their lives. Sharon was able to make a significant impact on people’s lives, which directly benefited the children in the families she worked with. As a direct result of Sharon’s intervention, future generations of parents who benefited as children will be better parents themselves.
Sharon and Bob made their home on Whidbey Island in Coupeville after he retired from the Air Force in 1979. They lived in Whidbey Highlands since 1980 and were both well known within the community of Oak Harbor.
Sharon is survived by her daughter Holly J. Roberts and her husband Keith, of Oak Harbor and two sons, Robert E. Grant, Jr. and his wife Carol of Seattle, and Jon K. Grant and his wife Linda of Kalispell, Mont. She has two brothers, Karl Brock and his wife Joyce of Oak Harbor and Michael Brock and his wife Linda of Seattle. She is also survived by three grandchildren Keith Roberts, Jr. serving in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Guam, Kasey Roberts of Oak Harbor, and Heather J. Grant of Seattle. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bob Grant who passed away March 24, 1995.
Sharon loved her family very much and she will be deeply missed.
Funeral services for Sharon L. Grant will be held Wednesday, May 12, 2004, at 11 a.m., at Burley Funeral Chapel where Pastor Roosevelt Rumble will officiate. A reception for her family and all of Sharon’s friends will follow the service at the Boys & Girls Club of Oak Harbor. Sharon will be interred at Maple Leaf Cemetery next to her husband in a private family service.
Sharon requested that memorials be made to the Boys & Girls Club of Oak Harbor.
Cards may be sent to: Mrs. Holly J. Roberts, daughter, P. O. Box 1224, Oak Harbor, WA 98277 or Mr. Robert E. Grant, Jr. son, 7510 12th Avenue, N.E., Seattle, WA 98115.
