Sharon Elizabeth Ryan

Southern Shores – On Saturday May 19, 2018 the gates of heaven opened wide to receive the loving soul of Sharon Elizabeth Ryan. After a brief illness, Sharon passed peacefully at home, surrounded by family and friends. She was 67.

Sharon is survived by husband, Ron R. Ryan of Southern Shores, NC; brothers, Joseph R. Crockett of NC and John W. Crockett of VA; children, Meredith L. Ryan of NC, Christopher T. Ryan and wife Claire M. Ryan of NY; granddaughters, Julia S. Westmoreland and Sydney A. Westmoreland of NC; and niece, Chandra Fultz of VA.

Sharon was born in Newport News, VA. She was the daughter of the late Joseph Randolph Crockett and Elizabeth Faye Crockett, both originally from Wytheville, VA. Sharon was raised in Norfolk VA., and graduated from Maury High School. Being born into a Navy family, young Sharon traveled extensively prior to settling in Norfolk. Port of calls included Guantanamo Bay Cuba, Munford TN, and Jacksonville FL. After graduating high school, Sharon attended technical school for airline business systems. Not long after landing her first job in Arlington VA, Sharon ran into an old acquaintance from home and it wasn’t long after that the stars aligned, and Sharon and Ron’s great adventure began. First marriage, then babies, next a move away from home for employment opportunities in Baltimore, then the 1981 a move to the Outer Banks.

Sharon was busy, always busy – she was energized, tireless. Whether it be work, play or raising her family she always gave it her all. She may have expected a lot from others, but she usually gave more. She was an employer’s dream, a worker bee, who wanted to get the job done and do it right. Sharon worked as a paralegal for local attorney John Gaw for 15 years and was employed by Twiddy & Company for 19 years in the Vacation Rentals Maintenance Division.  When it came to play, she was vibrant – laughter came easy; she knew how to have fun; she was a dancer. While raising the family she worked long and hard to keep the house in order and worked even harder to instill solid social values.  When it came to being a partner in marriage, the union was near perfect, love and respect for each other was just business as usual, it was so easy.

Sharon loved walking on the beach in search of any treasure that Mother Nature was willing to give up. You name it and she found it: shells, beach glass, arrow heads, Indian pottery, fossils and so on.  You could say it was a passion for her.  She loved animals of all kinds even if they didn’t have any fur, though she was definitely a dog lover. The numerous pets that the family had were not mere pets, they were family members. Sharon was a people person; she was direct, honest, sincere and loving. What you saw was who she was and most of all, she knew that if you had the love of family and friends you pretty much had it all. She is loved by many and will be greatly missed but never forgotten.

A Celebration of Life will take place will be held at a future date. Condolences to the family may be expressed via the online register at www.gallopfuneralservices.com. Gallop Funeral Services, Inc. was entrusted with arrangements.