May
22, 1938 - Jan. 28, 2009SOUTH BEND - Sharon Lee (Borg) Sloan died on January 28, 2009, of causes related to pancreatic cancer. Sharon was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 22, 1938, the first child of Thelma Evans and Elden Kenneth Borg. She was educated in Salt Lake City schools, where she graduated with highest honors from East High School in 1956. Inspired by one of her teachers, J. Hazel Witcomb, she wished to dedicate her life to public service. She was selected in 1956 as one of the top four winners in a national contest for an essay on assisting the handicapped and won a trip to Washington, D.C., where she met the vice president. As an undergraduate at the University of Utah she met her future husband, Phillip Reid Sloan, and they were married on September 2, 1958. She and Phil spent nine years raising their four daughters in San Diego while Phil attended graduate school. After moving with her family to Seattle, Washington, she returned to school at the University of Washington, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Classical Studies. In 1974 she moved with her family to South Bend, Indiana, when Phil began teaching at the University of Notre Dame. She worked at the Development Office and Business School at Notre Dame and later at Saint Joseph Bank as a trust officer and bank vice president. In 1990 she resigned from the bank to pursue her lifelong interest in theology and spirituality. After completing a sabbatical year program at Notre Dame, she enrolled in the Graduate Theological Union in Chicago, where she completed a master's degree in 1994 on the medieval woman mystic, Mechthild of Magdeburg. In 1994, she began working for the Congregation of Holy Cross, and she supported many members of the congregation until she retired in 2004. Sharon never lost her commitment to public service. Many in South Bend may remember her rusty blue station wagon making food deliveries for St. Vincent De Paul. Active all her life in Democratic politics, she worked for social justice and human betterment in many ways. As a civil rights and peace activist in the 60s she was ecstatic to see the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. She was also active in church affairs, having served for a time as the president of the Parish Council at Holy Cross Parish, as a Eucharistic minister, and as a worker from the parish at the South Bend Center for the Homeless. She was also a great lover of spectator sports, travel, great literature, art and music, both popular and classical. Her great comfort in all times of difficulty was Jane Austen. Family gatherings at the home of Phil and Sharon were filled with a spirit of fellowship, humor and grace that radiated from her as the center of a growing extended family. Two of her greatest joys in the last few years were her great-grandchildren, Owen and Ella Liskey. All who knew her appreciated her great sense of humor, inclusive spirit, and love of family games. She will be deeply missed by all her loving family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Phil; by her sister, Cecie Scharman (Salt Lake City); by her four daughters, Laura Mabry (Brian Mabry) of South Bend, Mary Sloan (Bert Malerba) of Albany, New York, Kate Sloan of Brookings, Oregon, and Sheila Sloan-Evans (Eric Evans) of Redmond, Washington; by 10 grandchildren, Angela (Nick) Liskey, Dante Knapp, Derek, Sean and Alanna Mabry, Paulien and Siobhan Sloan-Evans, Holly, Gabe and Cole Malerba; and by two great-grandchildren, Owen and Ella Liskey. A prayer service followed by an informal remembrance service will be held in the Kaniewski Funeral Home from 7 to 8 p.m. today, where friends and family may visit from 4 to 8 p.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Cross parish on Friday, January 30, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be at Riverview Cemetery. In place of flowers, donations are requested to be sent to Children's Surgery International @ donations@childrenssurgeryintl.org or to the Medical Arts Building, 825 Nicollett Mall, Suite 706, Minneapolis, MN 55402.