Sharon Rae Shaffer

Sharon was born in Waukegan, Illinois to William and Mabel (Aldridge) Edwards July 3, 1945. She was the younger sister to Larry and Becky and the older sister to Kathy. Sharon always had the personality of a firecracker. She was witty, quick to tell jokes, and known to crash a neighbor’s motorcycle into the garage door.

Sharon married Ronald K. Shaffer in on Sept. 5th, 1964. After marriage she began her career as a switchboard operator with DeKalb Telephone Company in DeKalb, IL and later with The Bell System, aka Ma Bell, in Waukegan. Sharon welcomed her daughter, Pamela, in March of 1967.

In July of 1969, Sharon followed her sister Becky to the Pacific Northwest to raise her growing family. Son, Jeff was born in August of 1970 in Olympia, Washington. The young family explored several places throughout Washington in the early 70s before finally settling down in Portland, Oregon in 1974. Sharon continued her switchboard operator skills at Woodland Park Hospital until the opening of Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside. There, she worked with many lifelong friends in her more than 30 years of tenure. With Kaiser, she began on the hospital switchboard, but expanded her customer service skills and welcoming personality greeting patients checking in for care.

Sharon’s home was the family gathering place for extended family for many family events and reunions, but her home will be most fondly remembered for the Christmas White Elephant Exchange - an event most fitting with her as the hostess. This event brought roaring laughter and forever memories for many.

Sharon never found a sale she could resist. If it was on sale, on clearance, from Tuesday Morning, or at a yard sale; she would never come home empty handed. She enjoyed traveling to see family in Arizona and Wisconsin. She was also a one hit wonder performing a stand-up comedy routine at the Trail’s End Saloon in Oregon City in 2006. Sharon’s true passion was being a loving grandmother to Natalie, Emily, Justin and Olivia. She loved reading stories, baking cookies and sewing placemats and quilts with her best buddies by her side.

In 2016, Sharon sold her beloved Portland home next to Leach Botanical Gardens to live with her daughter, Pam and granddaughter, Olivia in Seattle. Sharon eventually returned to Oregon this November to spend her final weeks. Sharon is survived by her three siblings, Larry (Shirley) Edwards; Becky (Ron) Yasenchak; Kathy (Phillip) Reingold; her daughter, Pam; her son, Jeff (Tracy); her four grandchildren, Natalie (21), Emily (18), Justin (12), and Olivia (13) along with many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A private celebration of life will be planned at some future date. In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting a local restaurant or business in her honor.