Sharise Valdeen (Eaton) Gustafson

this world on March 6, 2018, to reside in eternity with our Lord and Savior, Jesus

Christ.

She was raised all of her life in Hanford, attending Lee Richmond Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Jr. Middle School, and graduating from Hanford High School with the class of 1989. Many people from this class have remained lifelong friends. After graduating from high school Sharise married her first husband,

John Michael Dukman, and the couple had her only child, their son John Michael Jr. She was a homemaker until her son began attending school and she decided she needed to do something more with her life. Sharise was a loving, kind, and thoughtful person, which led her to choose her life's career as a nurse. This kindness was shown, for example, when she met a woman at one of her nursing jobs

who shared with her that she was penniless and didn't know how she'd support her family. Sharise listened to the woman, left for home but could not forget this woman's plight. She went and cashed her paycheck and returned to work and gave all of it to this woman. Just one of many kind acts in her life. She had attended Reedley Junior College to take the prerequisites she would need to attend nursing

school. She earned her LVN license, graduating at the top of her class, which demonstrated her keen intelligence. She spent many years in this profession until injuries related to nursing caused her to leave something she loved. She had hoped she would be able to return to what she loved but disabilities prevented that from happening.

She had many obvious talents. She, at one time, was responsible for running and managing her aunt's cookie counter at the old Hanford Mall, end eventually assisted her aunt in decorating her collectibles store in Kingsburg. She had an eye for interior design (using whatever she had at the time) and it always turned out like something from a magazine. She created beautiful wreaths and floral arrangements that she would sell on the side. Sharise was also a phenomenal cook and just had a knack for creating delicious dishes. Some of her specialties were rice pilaf, mushroom steak, chocolate chip cookies and every holiday for the family’s Thanksgiving meal, her pumpkin roll. Sharise used food as a means for making amends if ever there were any disagreements. It was her way of saying, "I'm sorry."

Sharise loved her son John Michael, daughter-in-law Miranda, and the sunshine of her life, granddaughter Janelle. She would often sing the song, "You Are My Sunshine" to Janelle and looked forward to walking her to preschool almost daily. She spent her last days living with her beautiful family. She is survived by her son and family, husband Russell Gustafson, parents Bud and Joneen Eaton, sister Sonya Lowther (Keith), sister Shauna Brandt (Kevin) and brother Scott Eaton (Leighann), as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at First Christian Church, 505 W Cameron, Hanford, California, at 1:00 on March 31, 2018. Please join the family to help celebrate and remember Sharise's life.