A. Sharon Dendauw died peacefully Feb. 24, 2011, at Merrill Gardens in Gardnerville. Sharon was born Dec. 31, 1938, to Alvina (Schwindt) and Paul Kelty. When Sharon was 10 years old, she lost her father. Her mother later married Raymond Murphy and the family moved to Cheyenne, Wyo., where Sharon spent her youth with her older brother Theodore and younger siblings Linda and Patrick.
Sharon graduated from Cheyenne High School in 1956. She worked for Hutchins Florists and later for Stockgrowers Bank. She returned to Denver where she worked for Linde Company for several years.
In 1965, Sharon and her mother visited Sharon's older brother Ted at Lake Tahoe. Sharon fell in love with the area and took a job as the executive secretary of the newly built Sahara Tahoe. She worked there most of her career. After she retired, she worked for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority.
Sharon met another employee named Donald Dendauw at Sahara Tahoe. They fell in love and were married on Nov. 17, 1967. Sharon and Don shared a home on Kingsbury Grade and spent summers together fishing on the Lake and enjoying the surrounding mountains.
Sharon is survived by her husband Donald, her sister Linda Kessler of Wyoming, brother Patrick Murphy of Colorado, sons Dennis Dendauw and Kenneth Crockett, daughters Kristi Dendauw and Karen Mills, grandchildren Christopher and Dylan Ray, Shanna and Zackery Milano, Thomas and Rachel Crockett and great-grandchildren Karma and Ronnie Ray.
She was preceded in death by her father Paul, her mother Alvina and her stepfather Raymond Murphy, her older brother Theodore Kelty and his son, Kevin Kelty.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. May 28, 2011, at FitzHenry's Funeral Home, 3945 Fairview Dr., Carson City. The family would like you to join them for a reception at the Dendauw family home, 189 Cottonwood, Stateline, after the service to celebrate Sharon's life.
One More Day
One More Time
One More Sunset
Maybe We'd Be Satisfied
But Then Again
We Know What It Would Do
Leave Us Wishing Still,
For One More Day With You
We Miss You Sharon