Sharon Reid Yeager

Sharon Reid Yeager, 87, of Midland, Texas passed away peacefully on the afternoon of July 10, 2023, after a short illness. Sharon was born in Newkirk, OK to Marguerite and David Terry on July 2, 1936. She was a wife, a mother, an artist, a very talented and skilled stitcher (needlepoint), a volunteer, active in her church, an amazing school teacher, and most of all someone with a huge heart driven to serve others.

Sharon grew up in Odessa, Texas after moving around a bit as a child. She graduated from Odessa High in 1954. She was on the student council and a member of the National Honor Society. She attended the University of New Mexico for two years. While there she met a dentist who had been a prisoner of war during World War II who learned to use hypnosis to survive during those traumatic days. Sharon wrote a paper about the dentist, who through hypnosis helped her stop severely biting her fingernails.

Another very important acquaintance she made at UNM, introduced to her by a classmate Hal Finch, was Midlander Goss Yeager. They became great friends and remained friends after Sharon transferred to Sul Ross in Alpine, TX where she completed her degree in education. While at Sul Ross, Sharon was on the student council as treasurer, and joined Alpha Kappa Phi. She was also, to her complete surprise, voted homecoming queen. At graduation, Sharon was offered a teaching position in El Paso, TX at the Ysleta Elementary School. She worked as a schoolteacher for two years, and absolutely loved her job and all her kids. That experience stayed with her throughout her life. There was always a story of some adventure she and her kids experienced. Like the time one of her students came to tell her he would be quitting school. It turned out his newborn twin siblings had an allergy to cow’s milk, and he needed to stay home to help his mother while they saved up to buy a goat. Sharon, with very little money herself, went out, found a goat, negotiated with the farmer to tutor his son for free in return for the goat. She took it to her student’s home – in her car, her very tiny car. Which smelled terrible for a long time after her special delivery. Her student was able to return to school, and the babies were healthy. After that, Sharon visited often with his mother and always held the little ones.

While at home in Odessa over the summer break, Goss, after six years of being good friends, finally asked Sharon out on their first date. It wasn’t long after that date that he proposed, and Sharon accepted. They wed on August 30, 1962, and were married for 53 years. The couple settled in Midland. Sharon substitute taught until the birth of her first daughter, Elizabeth Yeager. Sharon transitioned into being a mom very easily but remained very active in the community. She and Goss joined The Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity where her mother and father-in-law attended. She taught Sunday school and helped reorganized and replenish the church’s library with help from her close friend Yvonne Sampson. She was momentarily a part of the Junior League, a Candy Striper at the hospital, and a member of the (infamous) Friday Group (bible study/prayer/book club) of the Episcopal Women. Marian, Sharon’s youngest daughter remembers fondly the sounds of the women talking and their infectious laughter.

When the youngest daughter, Marian was diagnosed as dyslexic Sharon was informed that Marian would never be able to read a newspaper, balance her checkbook, and would never graduate from high school. Sharon the teacher came to play and wasn’t taking any prisoners. She did all that she could to help Marian learn in her way. When Marian told her mother she wanted to be a writer, Sharon assigned Marian the task of writing one story each week. When finished, Sharon would read the story into a recorder and play it back for Marian to listen to. This was the perfect way for Marian to hear if she was getting her point across, and make sure her grammar was in the right tense and whether the punctuation was correct. Sharon went above and beyond working with Marian and none of the things that the counselor told Sharon came true. Her daughter graduated college and is currently a screenwriter and filmmaker which made Sharon a very proud mama.

When not working with her daughter, she continued to be very busy volunteering with the Friends of the Library, working on the Vestry at Holy Trinity, and cheering on her eldest, Elizabeth at all her sporting events. No matter how busy Sharon might be she took time for herself. She played golf with Goss as well as competed in the women’s golf tournaments at Midland Country Clube. Sharon was never someone who sat on her laurels.

Another enjoyment Sharon had was art. She was a very gifted artist. She enjoyed drawing and was a painter at a young age, but she found her true passion in early motherhood with needlepoint. When Elizabeth was a wee one Sharon heard on the radio about a needlepoint class being given at Kitten Caboodle needle shop. She would go once a week. Goss would babysit and never quite was able to get Elizabeth in to bed before Sharon arrived home. Most nights she found them sleeping on the couch together, which was always so sweet, but also gave her a little more time to put in a few more stitches before putting them both to bed. Her love for thread and canvas led her to join the ladies needle pointing group at Hold Trinity where she stitched the bishop’s kneeler. She was very proud of this but always said, “I could only stitch straight lines at the time and the kneeler was a lamb with a curved back. Don’t look to closely at it.” Sharon stitched every day, if not multiple times a day into evening. She always had at least 10 projects going and many waiting in the wings. She joined many stitching groups and loved spending time with her lady stitchers. She especially loved the newbies, and was so happy to share her craft and tricks with them. In later years, stitching was there for her when life was challenging and hard. She always found solace with a needle and thread in her hand.

Sharon is preceded in death by her mother, Marguerite Alice Emma Watson; her father, William David Terry; her brother, Gene O. Terry; her beloved husband, G. Goss Yeager; and her beautiful and funny eldest daughter, Elizabeth R. Yeager. She is survived by her youngest daughter Marian G. Yeager of Austin, Texas. A memorial service will be held at 2pm on Saturday August 26 at The Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Holy Trinity or a charity of your choice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldenforestoaks.com for the Yeager family.