Sharon Louise Ward

Sharon Louise “Grandma Shari” Ward (75) of Boulevard, California, passed away at her home on October 13, 2026, and, with her passing, the world is a bit dimmer. Shari was born on June 2, 1951, in Thermopolis, Wyoming to Phyllis Jean Haynes and Virgil Beaver, Jr. After graduating from Thermopolis High School in 1968, she attended the University of Wyoming. There she met her husband, Thomas Lee Ward, and received her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. She married Tom on June 5, 1971, and embarked on a 55-year adventure starting by raising their two daughters, Rebecca and Raelyn. As a registered nurse, she worked as a labor and delivery nurse, a nursing director at a retirement center, a public health nurse, a school nurse and, after her and Tom’s move to California, a registry nurse, finishing her career caring for her beloved people at Southern Indian Health Council. Befitting her vibrant and irrepressible capacity for love, for over 40 years, she cared for people from their first moments in this world to their last. She was also the clerk and devoted member of the Dulzura Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Shari loved spending time with family and friends, knitting, traveling, reading, and collecting butterflies and highland cows. But, most of all, she loved loving people. She had a gift for immediately making everyone feel seen, known, and loved. On a daily basis, she embodied 1 John 4:7, which reads “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” And, she believed firmly in Christ’s words, found in 2 Corinthians 12:9, her favorite verse, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” She will be remembered for her magic hugs, engaging laugh, and beautiful singing voice especially on duets with her sister, Nancy Weaver.

She is survived by her devoted husband, Tom, of Boulevard, California; daughters Rebecca Lynn Morrow of Huntington, WV, and Raelyn Marie Wortman of Gillette, WY; her sons-in-law Christopher Morrow and Lyle Wortman whom she loved as her own; seven grandchildren: one grandson-in-law; and four great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Nancy Weaver, and her husband, Ron; her mother-in-law, Barbara Ward; her sister-in-law, Jeanne Donnini and her husband, William; three nephews and one niece; and countless others she made feel like family. She is preceded in death by her mother, Phyllis; her father, Virgil; her step-father, Robert Richardson; her father-in-law, Thomas Ward; and her granddaughter, Hayley Wortman.

On Friday, October 23rd, friends and family will be gathering at the Manzanita Community Center (138 Manzanita Road) beginning at 9 a.m. for the vigil and around 3 p.m. for the funeral.

Funeral Arrangements are being handled by the El Cajon Mortuary, 684 S Mollison Ave,, El Cajon, CA 92020 with flowers from the Wild Orchid Florist.