Sharon Ann Gibbons

She was the kindest person you could ever know. She never swore and never yelled at us, even while being a single mother for most of our childhood. She worked two jobs and always made sure we had everything we needed—and more.

With three kids in baseball, ballet, sea cadets, karate, dance, cheerleading, and choir, we never went without. She was a super mom. We still don’t know how she did it, all with a smile on her face.

Her mentor was her grandmother, Anna Katherine Gugel, who would stay with us as children while our mom worked. They shared the same gentle demeanor.

When we were teenagers, our mother remarried our father, and she had her best buddy back. They ate out every day and went to the casino often—especially the casino on the boat in Windsor, which was their favorite. She loved those blazing sevens. They took trips to Las Vegas with friends and met up daily for coffee, talking for hours.

Playing bingo was another of her favorite pastimes, and she played our whole lives. As children, we remember that when she would win, she would bring home a pizza and fan out her money for us to see—we were always so excited. As adults, when we played with her, she taught us to share our winnings. She would say, “If you want it to come back, that’s what you do.”

Her favorite flowers were African violets. Her favorite movie was Dirty Dancing, and her favorite song was “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler.

She rarely spoke badly about anyone. She would always say, “If you have nothing nice to say, keep your mouth shut.” She trusted people deeply and was sometimes taken advantage of because of it, but she would tell us, “Don’t worry, karma will take care of it.”

Anyone who knew her has a funny story about the silly, innocent things she did. We’ve shared many good laughs at her expense.

About 25 years ago, she started Mother’s Day trips with her daughters and sisters. Every year, we would spend a couple of nights at a casino. She told us that we were mothers every day, so on Mother’s Day, we should spend it doing what we enjoy—taking care of no one but ourselves.

She will be missed by all of us, but we take comfort in knowing she is now reunited with her husband, her sisters, her best friends Diane and Bunny, her mother, her father who left her too soon at 41 years old, and her Grandma Gugel, who whispered she was coming to get her on Friday, and she did.

Sharon is survived by her three loving children, Kimberly (Ron) Gardner, Kelly (Rodney) Burbank, and Keith (Jenn) Gibbons; her seven grandchildren, Ronnie (Jolene), Cory, Joel, Jacob (Shelby), Marissa, Troy, and Ted; and her three great-grandchildren, Zachary, Jonathon, and Alexandra. She is also survived by her niece, Dionne, whom she lovingly referred to as “Dee-Dee Dina”; her godson, Dennis; and Darin, her bonus son, who lived with her and her husband for a time and whom she trusted very much.

Sharon was preceded in death by her husband, Vietnam veteran Charles Frederick Gibbons; her father, Everett Vaughn Mosier, a World War II veteran and gunner who flew with the Flying Tigers; her mother, Cecilia Gladys Mosier; and her sisters, Sandra Garrison and Susan Lyons.

Funeral services for Sharon will be private.