Sharon Winn Smetherman

She is survived by her children: Dana Smetherman (Charles Freeman) of Arlington, VA, Collin Smetherman Ginsberg of Madisonville, LA, Lauren Smetherman Merten (Peter Merten) of Cincinnati, OH, and Ashley Smetherman Lemmler of Covington, LA; eight grandchildren: Robert and Emma Freeman, Tyler Ginsberg (Jacki Pagliaro Ginsberg), Vivian LaCerda, Caroline Merten, David Merten (Oliver Lehne), Riley and Molly Lemmler; her sister: Ave Winn McNamara; her sister-in-law and brother-in-law: Maria Winn and Jesse Smetherman; and many nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert Blanks Winn and Audrey Hampton Winn and her brother, Robert Ernest Winn.

Sharon attended St. Dominic School and St. Mary’s Dominican High School. She then received a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Loyola University and later a Master of Educational Administration from the University of New Orleans.

A lifelong educator, Sharon’s love of teaching started at age 14 when she joined the staff of Gentilly Dance Academy. She went on to teach English, Speech, and Drama over a more than 50-year career, most notably at Kehoe France where she taught for 27 years.

Another lifelong passion was the performing arts, and Sharon shared her talents on many stages, including Le Chat Noir, Rivertown Repertory, Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, Tulane Shakespeare Festival, Bayou Dinner Theatre, Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre and the Producers’ Club Theatre in New York. Her final onstage performance was with the Durban Playhouse Company in Durban, South Africa as part of the International Arts Foundation Inc. of New Orleans. Sharon shared her love of the stage with the many students who participated in countless shows she directed and choreographed throughout her career.

Sharon’s daughters and grandchildren were her greatest joy, and nothing made her happier than attending their activities and applauding their accomplishments. A loving and dedicated parent and grandparent, she attended every concert, game, recital, performance, graduation, and celebration to the end. Her love of Mardi Gras, her students, Drew Brees, Little Debbie snack cakes, and the Hokey Pokey (the standard closing routine for her dance classes) will live on. That’s what it’s all about!

Family and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass in the chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans, on Monday, November 24, 2025, at 12:00PM. A visitation will be held at the funeral home beginning at 10:00AM. The interment will follow Mass at Lake Lawn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Sharon’s name to Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre: https://securetu.tulane.edu/s/1586/Giving/16/interior.aspx?sid=1586&gid=2&pgid=2062&cid=3747&appealcode=EGSW6