Sharon K Vandaveer

Sharon Kay Vandaveer (Peters) passed away on October 2, 2025, in Laveen, Arizona. Sharon was born on March 21, 1948, to Vacil Kenneth and Charlotte Lorraine Peters. Sharon grew up in Independence, Missouri and graduated from Truman High School. Sharon, her five sisters and two brothers spent quality family time together running and hiding in the alfalfa fields and jumping onto the haystacks in the barn. After moving to Kansas City, Sharon began working for Trans World Airlines (TWA). It is there she met her husband, David A. Vandaveer Jr. Sharon and Dave enjoyed many outings with the Neodesha, Kansas group of friends as well as with the Tall Timbers neighborhood friends. Sharon also loved spending time with her family and the non-stop laughter with her sisters.

For over 35 years, Sharon had a successful career at TWA and took intense training to become a computer engineer. She worked her way up to the position as a database administrator for Worldspan, a joint venture with TWA, Delta, and Northwest travel reservation system. After years of late nights being on call, Sharon was able to retire shortly after her granddaughters were born in 2005.

Anyone who knew Sharon will talk about how she was truly a kind person and always wanted to help people. Sharon provided guidance to her children: Stacey, (Bruce) and Jeff, (Diana) on being organized, independent, kind, and trustworthy. Her daughter Stacey and her son-in-law Bruce will always be thankful for her help in caring for Sharon’s granddaughters Abbey, Peyton, and Olivia. She spent a lot of time at the hospital and stayed over to feed them in the middle of the night. Her granddaughters will always cherish every moment spent with Grandma Sharon and how they could convince her to take them to Penguin Park and of course get treats from the ice cream truck. They had so many adventures together exploring the great outdoors and hunting for plastic Easter eggs all year long.

In 2016, Sharon’s son Jeff, his fiancé Diana welcomed Sharon to Arizona. Jeff and Diana provided a happy and healthy home where they supported Sharon as she was active at the senior center and took several interactive classes. Sharon loved all kinds of dancing that kept her active for as many years as possible. She spent time with her family by going to the dinner theater and church concerts. Her grandson Elliott spent time each afternoon telling Grandma Sharon all about his ideas and activities.

Even though Sharon’s journey became difficult, she handled it with grace teaching us to work hard and to never give up. She will continue to fill our hearts with precious, fun memories! We are so blessed for all that she has shared and taught each of us on our own life journeys. Sharon will always be loved and deeply missed.

Memorial donations may be sent to Alzheimer’s and Dementia research – alzfdn.org

The family would like to thank Sharon’s ‘angels’ for taking such diligent care of her and loving her like their own.

Visitation will be at 12:00 on Saturday October 18. The funeral service will begin at 1:00 pm and then a graveside burial.