Sharon Marie Ballard Woods passed away on March 19, 2025, in New Ulm, Texas, at the age of 69. Sharon was born the third child of five on August 2, 1955, in Newellton, Louisiana.  She was preceded in death by her father, Reverend Walter Cargile Ballard, her mother, Stella Louise Wilson Ballard, and her brother, Walter Ervin Ballard. She is survived by her husband of 26 years, Glynn Eugene Woods, her older sister, Linda Ballard McCreary (Billy Lee McCreary); her brothers, Gerald Wayne Ballard and Philip Taylor Ballard; her niece, Melinda Leigh McCreary Clark (Scottie D); her nephew, Jeremy Wayne McCreary; her great nephews, Dylan Ballard, Connor Elijah Clark, and Preston Andrew Clark; her great nieces, Jessyca Ashley Ballard and Sarah Michelle Ballard; her stepchildren, Alexis Ann Woods McGinnis (Ryan Jeffrey McGinnis) and Anson Wade Woods, and her step-grandchildren, Kieran Joseph McGinnis and Nathan Sidney McGinnis.

     Sharon was born in Newellton, Louisiana, and grew up in Batesville, Mississippi. She attended the University of Mississippi, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with honors in 1976. She worked as a nurse at the Veterans’ Administration Hospitals in Jackson, Mississippi, and later in Houston, Texas. She then worked at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, as a patient liaison, where she guided patients through what could be a frightening and bewildering hospitalization with her warm and caring persona, her soft-spoken voice, and her southern charm.

     She met her husband, Glynn, in Houston, and they were married on February 6, 1999. They moved to New Ulm, Texas, where they became close friends with their neighbors near and far, often traveling together and having dinner parties. Sharon loved animals, gardening, casinos, traveling, and hosting parties. Her two cats, Gray and Oreo, gave her great enjoyment and comfort. She was a member of two book clubs. Sharon always knew a great place to have lunch with a friend. She loved playing slot machines in the casinos, and won hefty prizes numerous times. Until last November, she drove to Brenham, Texas, routinely for yoga class, having been a faithful student for many years. Her greatest trait was her genuine interest in people she met along the way, always making anyone she knew feel special.

     Sharon was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. After completing her treatment, she was cancer-free for a number of years. On the day before Thanksgiving in 2019, she became ill while visiting family in Mississippi. She learned that the breast cancer had returned in several locations in her body, and she courageously faced treatment over the next five and a half years. Sharon spent the last month of her life at home on hospice services, where she could gaze out the large bay windows in her living room from her hospital bed at their verdant yard she had so lovingly tended. Sharon died peacefully on the morning of March 19, 2025, with her husband at her side, in familiar and comfortable surroundings.

     Sharon will be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her. She will always be remembered for positive attitude throughout her yearslong cancer treatments, and her beautiful smile.

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