Sharon L. Parker

Sharon (Marchant) Parker went home to be with the Lord on Friday, October 10 with loving family by her side, just shy of her 87th birthday. Sharon was born in Bellingham and grew up on a dairy farm in Lynden, Washington, with her sister, Irene, her mother, father, grandmother and maternal aunt. She spent summers picking strawberries and raspberries with her high school friend, Frances, and delighted in visiting her beloved Aunt Helen in Tacoma, who doted on her and was always the source of great fun and love. Sharon may have grown up in a small town, but she had big dreams and an abiding curiosity about the wider world. Shortly after graduating from high school, she moved to Seattle and put herself through secretarial school. She got a job working for a phone company, then eventually took a boat to Hawaii with friends and lived in Honolulu for a year, working and having adventures. Returning to Seattle, she got a job she loved for American Building Maintenance, before reconnecting with her high school sweetheart, Terry Parker. Sharon and Terry were married on June 30, 1962, and after his graduation from UW moved to Portland, OR. But they both missed Seattle, so after a year-and-a-half Terry got a job with Kilsby Tube Supply and Sharon returned to ABM. Eventually Terry became an officer with the Seattle Police Department, where he learned to ride a motorcycle with fellow officers. He and Sharon took road trips on his motorcycle with his partner, Ron, and his wife, Sherry, camping around the Pacific Northwest. They bought their first home in Kent, where their first two children were born, then built a home on almost five acres in Enumclaw, affectionately known by all as the Cedar House. Their second two children were born there, then they made a great leap and moved the family to Alaska in1978, joining her sister and brother-in-law, Irene and Bill. They adored Alaska and Sharon helped Terry run Parker Construction by doing the bookkeeping for many years. In 1986 they moved to East Wenatchee and have lived in the area ever since. Sharon was a gifted gardener who loved reading, history and animals, especially cats and Jersey cows. She collected books, antiques, and dolls and was active with her local doll club for many years in Wenatchee. She was also a talented cook and baker who firmly believed everything was better with butter! She was always interested in trying new recipes and variations on classics, sometimes to the disappointment of her kids, who just wanted “normal” pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving! She embraced her Norwegian heritage and traveled there twice to connect with family. She and Terry visited Israel with members of their Congregation, Kehillah Shuvu, in 2018, which fulfilled a lifelong dream and was deeply rewarding. Her children vividly recall that she was always reading, and they could barely pass by her without her saying, “listen to this!” and regaling them with a fact or quote from whatever she was reading. She was a self-taught historian on the Holocaust and WWII and was a founding contributor to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC and the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle. Sharon was a devoutly religious woman and in recent years was particularly active to her congregation, baking Challah for services and even learning Hebrew in her 70s. She loved music, movies, and musicals in particular and her children joked that she knew a song for every occasion. She had an incredible memory for everything from movie trivia to the names of her children’s childhood friends. Sharon was known as a quiet and sweet-natured lady with a big heart and a mischievous sense of humor who gave generously to countless causes. She was never idle and kept a tidy house and a gorgeous garden with her husband Terry. She spent the last four years of her life living with her daughter, Monika, son-in-law, Jeff, their three boys, and a menagerie of animals which greatly enriched her life. They attended services regularly at Kehilla Shuvu with their daughter Laura, son Michael and her daughter-in-law, Melissa, which brought her great joy. She is survived by her beloved husband of 63 years, Terry, her four children, Mara (Santiago), Michael (Melissa), Monika (Jeff) and Laura (Daniel); her grandchildren Ronin, Soren, Mateo, Colt, Soledad, Nash, Raiden, and Memphis; her sister Irene and brother-in-law, Billy; her sister-in-law Sandy; her cousin, Wilma; and nieces and nephews Royce, Rodney, Todd and Desiree and their families.

Sharon L. Parker

October 22, 1938 - October 10, 2025