September 30, 2024

As I sit here today I’m thinking “of course it’s a beautiful day”………Sharon wouldn’t have it any other way. But I’m very sad too, because today marks one year since my friend died, and I know it’s time, 68 years after we first met, to say “goodbye for now”.

We met as freshman at the University of Washington in September of 1956 when we pledged Alpha Phi Sorority. She, Sydney and I were home economic majors, and our friendship grew…..especially between Sharon and Sydney, they lived in the sorority house, and I commuted. Home Ec majors required us to take fashion design & sewing courses (Sydney and I loved that, Sharon did not) along with cooking (Sharon loved and excelled at that, I did not). Sharon was already full on into food….We aways said Sydney and I got Sharon through sewing and Sharon got me through cooking. Sydney was good at both. Little did I realize she was on her way to being one of the most revered and expert food consultants in the entire Seattle area.

As I remember Sharon in those college days……very cute, very lively, very kind sweet girl, awesome sense of humor, sparkly eyes, up for just about anything…….though maybe not so much a “rule follower”. I learned this when I lived in the sorority house our senior year and roomed with Sharon. All sororities in those days had curfews, and Sharon always had a “creative” outlook on time……more than once I awoke to Sharon coming in late through the window of our second story room. Then there was the time Sharon, Sydney and I were bridesmaids in a sorority sister’s wedding. Sharon and I got a big idea (Sydney was the smart one) and ordered waist cinchers from Sears guaranteed to give us a 21” waist. And we made our dresses to fit a 21” waist, so there was no escape, we had to wear them! By the time the wedding was over and we were now standing in the reception line I was miserable. I thought it was just me until Sharon leaned over and said “my face is getting numb”. During college we worked together over Christmas break for the Post Office….my Dad was Postmaster of the Columbia City Post Office and would hire us as temp workers over Christmas. We road the bus from the U District to Columbia City and were so excited…we would have MONEY! One of our jobs was to write “nixies”, in those days that was how mail was forwarded. “Someone”, (a Postal Employee) would cross out the old address and hand write the new address on the envelope. During the holidays there were hundreds of Christmas Cards, and we were the “someones”. So boring, so repetitious, so tiring……my Dad came by to check on us one day and discovered that Sharon, in an effort to break up the routine, was writing personal notes on the mail as well as the new address…..”Hi again”, “Merry Christmas”, “Ho Ho Ho”……. Dad made us stop, no personal notes allowed, but secretly he loved it. The next job we had together was when Sharon managed to get us both hired at a cafeteria on “the Ave” in the U District, Mannings. Sharon always gave me a bad time about her being assigned the steam table, where she emerged after each shift very tired, sweaty and with unusually curly hair?……all the while I was assigned the cool and comfortable “salad bar”. After work we would walk back to the sorority laden with leftover food from Mannings……the rolls were divine. Wonder if it’s still there???  

After graduation Sharon was off to San Francisco where she had landed a job with Sunset Magazine and I got married. Sharon and I lost close touch during this period. But after a few years she came back to the Seattle area, met Larry (Seattle U graduate and pretty much life long Seafair clown, a match made in heaven) and they married, moving to Mercer Island. We were together again. By now she was beginning to be noted by the “food world” and she started giving demonstrations at Bon Marche, Bellevue Club, various public and private locations throughout the Seattle area. She wrote a column for the Mercer Island Reporter and conducted a men’s cooking class at her own Sharon’s Kitchen…..they all became lifelong friends, going together on a food trip to Europe. She asked me to be her assistant for her demonstrations (I had a car!)….. so off we went and I truly saw her through the eyes of others, it was remarkable, her expertise and personality were a perfect fit and everyone loved her. She became the food consultant for Anthony’s Restaurants, wrote several cookbooks and was known by so many of the “names” in the food world. She was always learning, always teaching….…

I know that all who knew Sharon, even for a short time, would say she was the most positive uplifting person they’d ever met. Sharon faced physical challenges the last few years of her life without a complaint. Honestly, she NEVER complained. It was as inspiring as much as it was “not fair”. She cared for both her mother and father until their deaths, running back and forth daily between the two facilities they lived in…..all the while her own health was failing. I read a comment by one of her friends after she died who said they’d asked her how she could think everything was “wonderful” (a word she used multiple times per day)…..and she replied “life is just easier that way”. That was her mantra, she was full of compassion, made friends with people she worked with, took classes from, and those she knew personally, like me……she really cared for everyone in her world. She was a true original, one of a kind and I was very lucky to be in her orbit.

She was a best friend to me for so so long, more than sorority sisters, we were sisters..

I miss her……..and I’ll never forget her.