Sharon Massengill Adkins

She was the oldest of 4 children, born to Norman and Frances “Frankie” Massengill. When her first sister, Robin, was born, Sharon was almost 6 years old and advocated strongly (but unsuccessfully) that Robin should be named Snow White. Melissa was born when mom was 10, and Todd rounded out the family 2 years after that. Sharon was tasked with taking care of her siblings until she left for college at 17 (and they missed her dearly when she left, with Todd not knowing who would give him his baths if she was gone!)

At the University of Kentucky, Sharon met Russ on the bowling team their freshman year. They dated and broke up, only to be reunited their senior year, this time for forever.

Upon graduation, Russ was drafted to the Air Force and service in Vietnam was on the horizon. They chose to forego the large Bristol wedding they’d been planning in order to tie the knot before his deployment. They were married on August 8, 1969 on the base in San Antonio in a tiny ceremony with family: day one of a beautiful 55 year marriage.

Russ was lucky and served his time as an English language tutor in Vietnam. When he returned a year later, he and Sharon moved to Tampa, where he was stationed at MacDill AFB. We always heard stories about those happy early years. They made good friends and loved being near the coast. They’d pack picnics and pull over under the causeway and watch the boats go by.

Their next stop was Clarion, PA, where Sharon and Russ both earned masters degrees. Sharon has been a lifelong lover of books so a masters in library science was a great fit. The Pennsylvania winter weather was not. She was not happy there! Russ got his graduate degree in Instructional Design and accepted a job in the Media Resource Center at Wichita State University in Kansas…sorry to say that the cold winters weren’t being escaped.

Wichita is where Sharon and Russ’ family grew, with the birth of Jennifer in 1975 and Lesley in 1978. The family spent most of the 80s in Wichita. Mom started working when the girls were in elementary school, as a legal librarian. She had a sewing room in the basement of their home, where she made the girls’ (and their dolls’ and teddy bears’) clothes, right next to the girls’ playroom Barbie wonderland, which also served as a tornado shelter when the sirens rang at all hours of the day. Life was simple and sweet and the time between work and school was filled with music on the record player, homemade fried chicken and pound cake, and board games (mom would use the copy machine at work to refill the supply of Clue and Yahtzee score sheets).

In 1988, Russ accepted a job opportunity that brought them back to sunny Florida, working at the public TV station on the campus of Daytona Beach Community College. Sharon became a reference librarian at the public library in Daytona and then Ormond Beach, the town where they spent the next decade. Russ and Sharon adjusted to Florida life much more easily than their daughters, who experienced some culture shock, trying to merge their midwestern roots with a surf town. Jenny and Lesley were in the marching band at Seabreeze High School, and Russ and Sharon supported the Sandcrabs by volunteering in the concession stand at football games. Still, the music flowed at home, now coming from tapes and CDs in addition to the vinyl albums. The good food was made, now with more seafood on the menu. Still the games were played, but with the girls’ friends and boyfriends added to the mix. Yes, there were contested curfews and speeding tickets and growing pains, but Sharon and Russ parented through the ups and downs with consistency and unconditional love.

The late 90s brought the next wave of transition, with Lesley heading off to college out of state and Russ making his next (and final) career move: this time as an administrator at Broward Community College in south Florida. Russ and Sharon made a new home in Plantation. Sharon continued working in the public library system, eventually becoming a trainer of reference librarians. She loved her work and watched the library move from analog to digital over the years. She was well-respected in her career and enjoyed the perk of receiving advance copies of books to devour before they were published.

During these years, the girls grew into adults and would visit their parents and enjoy really fun “Plantation Vacations” together. Russ and Sharon taught the girls to play a Massengill favorite card game: Poozle. Many hours and laughs have been shared around the card table. Sharon’s main Poozle rival tuned out to be Robert, who married Lesley in 2002 and very quickly became a beloved member of the Adkins family.

Sharon and Russ retired within a couple of years of each other, and went to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean on the first morning when both were retired, ushering in “the first day of the rest of our life,” as Russ captioned the selfie he shared in 2012.

Eager to escape the hustle and bustle of south Florida, Russ and Sharon decided to retire in the place they started their married years: Tampa. This moved them close to Jan, Russ’ sister, who joined them on many escapades around town and dinners at home. By this time, they had 3 grandchildren they loved so much: Keller, Ella, and Luke. The Tampa years were filled with slow, happy days that always began with coffee and a newspaper at the kitchen table. Sharon loved quilting, knitting, and cross-stitching. Once when the whole family descended on their downsized home for Thanksgiving, Sharon got creative with sleeping arrangements and transformed the Florida room into a magical starry campsite for the grandkids to share, with a tent and twinkly lights. Russ and Sharon traveled to favorite US cities (New Orleans; NYC; Highlands, NC) and abroad (France, Spain, England, Amsterdam), but their favorite travel destinations were to see family. A favorite family vacation spot was Islamorada in the Florida Keys, a place the Adkins family first vacationed as a family of 4 when the girls were in middle and high school, and just about every other summer from then on, making it a favorite spot for the grandkids too. Russ and Sharon loved good wine and fine dining. Their hard work throughout life brought them these well-deserved years of rest and play.

Those memories sustained Russ and Sharon when their health issues started to mount. Sharon was the most loving and patient caregiver when Russ became bed-bound due to a lung disease. The family hoped she would regain some of her own strength after Russ’ passing last November, but the past year only saw her get weaker and more tired. Her life was so entwined with Russ’, she was never the same after he was gone.

Still, she loved her family fiercely. Since she relocated to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren last year, she was able to be more involved in their daily lives and celebrated their accomplishments with them. Sharon never stopped wanting to help her family and her community. She never stopped asking if she could set the table or pick up snacks or help with the kids. Even as she was diminishing, her heart was all in.

Sharon’s love didn’t go away as she breathed her last breath on Sunday morning. It is alive in each of us and it will continue to shape our world. She lived her life in a peaceful, unhurried way, appreciating the idle conversation of “porch talk,” admiring nature, creating beautiful art, and being perfectly content in the company of her family.

A celebration of life will be held at Lakeside United Methodist Church on Sunday, November 30 at 2 pm (121 N Henderson Ln., Sanford, FL 32771.)

If you’d like to make a donation in Sharon’s honor, please consider:

Lakeside United Methodist Church

Upon her move from Tampa a year ago, this became Sharon’s home church—and she frequently talked about just how at home she felt here. She loved this church and supported its ministries and community outreach.

https://lakesideumc.net/give/

Vitality Living Christmas Fund

This fund is evenly disbursed among all hourly employees at Sharon’s assisted living facility at Christmas time. Sharon was well cared for and always praised the kindness of the employees.

Cash or checks payable to “2025 Christmas Fund” may be sealed in an envelope and dropped off at the Vitality concierge desk or mailed by December 10:

Vitality Living Lake Forest

5433 W. SR 46, Sanford, FL 32771