Sharon Marlyn Knickle

Sharon was born in North Adams MA to Ralph and Irene Fressola on November 26, 1940. She graduated from Williamstown High School in 1958 and College of Our Lady of the Elms in 1962 and went on to be an elementary school teacher in NY. On August 17th, 1963, she married her sweetheart Harry Knickle in Williamstown, MA and turned her attention to managing a growing family in Schenectady NY, until the family later moved to Warwick Rhode Island. In Warwick, Sharon took on multiple volunteer roles, including in the local and National PTA, where she became President of the RI PTA from 1983 – 1985. While active on the board of the National PTA she met with then first lady Nancy Reagan at the conference where Ms. Reagan introduced her "Just Say No" to drugs initiative. She also was an early champion of the Warwick Museum, now known as the Warwick Center for the Arts.

In addition to raising a family and volunteering, Sharon also co-founded the very first computer store in Rhode Island in 1984 with her husband Harry, winning several sales competitions, resulting in many trips around the world. She loved gardening and cooking and baking, and you could always get her talking about a great meal or dessert. All of us in the family still crave her rocky road fudge, and we’ve shared the recipe many times. And although Sharon was only half Italian, she identified strongly with her Italian roots, and homemade sauce, meatballs, and lasagna were frequent rotations on the menu.

Sharon is preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Irene, and her brother Ralph Jr. She is survived by her husband Harry, daughter Kimberly and son H. Norman and their spouses Mary and Kevin, as well as her four grandchildren - Calvin, Isabel, Andrew, and Laura - to whom she was affectionately known as Nana.

The family wishes to extend their thanks to all of those who made Grand Living a home, staff and residents alike.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Sharon’s favorite organization – her alma mater Elms College (Chicopee, MA) - https://www.elms.edu/alumni/support-elms/make-a-gift/