Sharon Eilber Douglass

Sharon E. Douglass of Temple, Texas passed away on December 10, 2023, at the age of 86. She was born on August 2, 1937, in Columbus, Ohio. She was the daughter of Donald and Darlene Eilber. The family moved to central California when she was eight. Her dad sold insurance from his car, accompanied by his wife Darlene, Sharon, and their Irish Setter dog, named Sport. They finally settled in Modesto where her dad sold insurance from his office in Riverbank.

Sharon graduated from Thomas Downey High School in 1955. She was active in the high school choir. She also sang with “The Nightingales”, a girl’s choral group. The Nightingales were invited to sing in the Rose Bowl Parade. She drove daily from Modesto to Sacramento to attend to Sacramento Junior College where she and her friends often visited Shakey’s Pizza. Sharon met her future husband, Jim Douglass at Shakey’s Pizza while he was attending Navigator Training at Travis AFB.

After Jim was transferred to Des Moines, Iowa Sharon worked as telephone operator at the Catalog Department for Sears & Roebuck. Jim and Sharon moved to Spring, TX where they lived for 15 years. Sharon worked in the business office for Pediatrician Dr. Stuart J. Yoffe. Sharon worked long hours at various jobs to put her children through Texas A&M University (Jamey – Class of 1980 and Donna – Class of 1983).Jim and Sharon moved to Austin in 1982, Jim was hired by TCPIA where he managed the catastrophe pool until he retired.

Jim and Sharon were founding members of Oak Hill UMC. Prior to building Oak Hill UMC, the congregation met at the Broken Spoke Saloon on South Lamar. She was actively involved in church. Sharon served as Administrative Chair for two years at Oak Hill UMC. She also worked as an administrative staffer, assisted the Pastors, Sunday School, and various other positions at Oak Hill UMC. After losing Jim, she continued to live in Austin for another 22 years. In 2017, Sharon moved to Temple to be closer to Jamey and get away from “weird” Austin. The past six years she was a member of First Methodist Church in Temple, TX where she was involved with Dangerous Women, UWF, and a widow’s group.

Sharon was an avid traveler. The family made trips to the Grand Canyon, Arizona, New Mexico, the Midwest, Virginia, and California. She enjoyed visiting family and friends. Sharon loved to take her Temple friends to local restaurants in the Temple-Belton area, and also enjoyed taking them to Waco for shopping and dining.

Sharon was preceded in death by her parents, Donald and Darlene Eilber, and her husband, James A “Jim” Douglass. Sharon is survived by her son, James A. “Jamey” Douglass II of Temple, TX, and her daughter Donna C. Douglass, of Porter, TX.

The family would like to thank the Doctors and especially the nurses of the BSW STICU for the care and compassion they showed our loved one in their final days. Thanks also to the staff and especially nurse Rachel from the Hospice Floor

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Sharon’s honor to Wounded Warrior Project.