Submitted by: Dan Rich

Sharon Lanieta Hesch

Feb. 13, 1937 - Aug. 6, 2005

South Bend Tribune 8/9/2005

Sharon Lanieta Hesch, 68, of Jamestown Court, Mishawaka, passed away after a short illness on Saturday, August 6, 2005, in the Holy Cross Care and Rehabilitation Center. She was born on February 13, 1937, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. When Sharon was four-and-a-half-months old she was adopted by the Pritz family. On February 24, 1958, Sharon had her daughter, Jennifer Hesch, who preceded her in death at the age of 19 on March 5, 1977. In 1995 Sharon found her birth mother, Wanda Kleine.

Sharon graduated in 1955 from John Adams High School in South Bend. Prior to owning her own business called Picture Perfect, she had worked at Dodge Manufacturing, NIPSCO and Weisberger Brothers. Sharon was a member at both Christ The King Lutheran Church and Clay United Methodist Church. She was a volunteer with Hospice of St. Joseph County, belonged to "Along The Journey" women's group at Clay United Methodist Church and "Young At Heart" at Christ The King Lutheran Church, as well as Stephen Ministry. She is survived by her two sisters, Irene Kennedy and husband, Byron of Coldwater, Michigan, and Erleen Clawson and husband, Chris of Tustin, California.

Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday, August 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. in the Welsheimer Family Funeral Home North, 17033 Cleveland Road, South Bend. Funeral service will be Thursday, August 11, at 10:30 a.m. in Clay United Methodist Church, with Rev. Herb Buwalda Jr. officiating and Kim Bloom assisting. Friends may also visit with the family one-hour prior to the start of service. Burial will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Osceola. In loving memory of Sharon, memorial contributions may be made to either Clay United Methodist Church, 17646 Cleveland Road, South Bend IN 46635; or to Christ The King Lutheran Church, 17195 Cleveland Road, South Bend IN 46635. A special "thank you" to Dr. Thomas Barbour and to the loving and compassionate staff at Holy Cross Care and Rehabilitation. Sharon loved her friends and family on earth, but now she will be dancing with her daughter, Jennifer, forever in heaven.