Sharon Zook Hubbard

On New Year’s Day, 2026, Sharon Zook Hubbard passed away at her home in Fairfax, Virginia, surrounded by her beloved family. She had waged a courageous and gutsy two-and-a-half-year battle with peritoneal mesothelioma.

Sharon was born on Chanute Air Force Base, a now-decommissioned U.S. military facility in Illinois. Her father was an Army colonel who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, and the family moved regularly, finally settling in northern Virginia in the mid-1960s. Sharon was the only girl in the clan, with five brothers. This contributed to her spunky personality, her drive to excel, her skill at quickly making new friends wherever she lived, and her resilience, as she knew she had to eat fast at home, or she wouldn’t get any.

A gifted academic, Sharon went to Annandale High School and later received a BA in Elementary Education from the College of William and Mary. After graduation, she taught first grade for seven years in Richmond, then relocated to northern Virginia. She worked with the Potomac Electric Power Company for several years, met a dashing young man named Scott Hubbard, and they married in November 1988, later welcoming children Amy and Matthew into their family.

We don’t have space here to profile all the ways Sharon invested herself in others. Her faith in Christ, and her experience of His love, gave her a heart of compassion for those who are often overlooked. She tutored Latino kids at Lake Braddock Elementary School, and visited lonely people in memory care centers. She headed a Salvation Army school supply program for children in need. She developed a creative plan of getting “once-used” flower bouquets from area funeral homes and repurposing them in individual vases to take to people who were home-bound, particularly those who did not have families nearby.

Her family’s military background gave her a desire to serve veterans. She volunteered with Warrior Canine Connection, which, several times, placed an eight-week-old puppy in the Hubbard home--for two years. Sharon would patiently train the pup in mastery of 37 voice commands, and then transition him, through WCC, to the home of a wounded veteran.

Sharon had an exploratory spirt and loved to travel, though in her later years she hated to fly. Go figure. As a young woman Sharon backpacked through Europe multiple times; years later, among other adventures, she spent a week in Costa Rica with daughter Amy, serving children and staff at the Hogar de Vida orphanage. She also traveled with Amy to Zimbabwe to support the ministry of Foundations for Farming, an international ministry that serves the rural poor.

Closer to home, Sharon was always a catalyst for bringing people together, whether in her neighborhood, in Moms in Prayer groups, and with her many, many friends old and new, who will miss her dearly.

Sharon is immediately survived by husband Scott, kids Amy and Matthew, brothers Bill, Jim, John, and Chris, her dear sisters-in-law, many nieces and nephews, a huge host of friends, and the world’s most chill dog, Kirby.

If you would like to contribute, in Sharon’s memory, to one of her many charitable interests, please do so at either Warrior Canine Connections (https://warriorcanineconnection.org) or International Cooperating Ministries (icm.org).

Jesus said, “As I have loved you, you must love one another.” John 13:35