Sharon L. Harper

MIDDLETON, Wis. - Sharon L. Harper, age 87, passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 20, 2025, at Oakwood Assisted Living in Madison, where she had recently moved.  She was born Sharon L. Buckley in Saginaw, Mich., on September 14, 1937, to Florence Buckley, and along with her older brother, Jim, was raised by this strong single Mom who was a bona fide Rosie-the-Riveter during Word War II at Saginaw Steering Gear.  

Sharon married her high-school sweetheart, James A. “Jim” Harper, and soon the family included two sons, Tim and Chris. Jim embarked on a very successful career in insurance, and with Sharon overseeing the home front with her two well-behaved boys, they made a series of moves around the country - Detroit, Miami, Oshkosh, and their favorite, Madison.

In Madison, they were among the founding members of Lutheran Church of the Living Christ. After their sons graduated college and left the nest, Sharon and Jim made several more job-related moves, including to Des Moines, and then spent the last 15 years in Grand Rapids, Mich., where Jim ran his own insurance/financial services agency. When retirement beckoned in 2001, they returned to Madison to be closer to their sons, and now three grandsons, and reconnected with their church and old friends. They built a beautiful Prairie Style retirement house in the then-new Middleton Hills development where Sharon lived until this past Christmas. Despite Jim’s passing in 2014, she kept a beautiful, immaculate house and gardens and her interiors, especially at the holidays, could have been in any design magazine.

Her great joys in life were the accomplishments of her sons and their families, and then with equal joy the same with her grandsons. She was absolutely delighted to become a great-grandmother (twice!) in recent years. She possessed an array of special skills - an ace baker, especially pies and Christmas cookies. Sharon was excellent at card games, especially bridge, and was part of many groups of player friends over the years and locales. She was an avid gardener and could whip up beautiful bouquets with whatever the garden offered. If you needed a present wrapped like a pro, with a perfect handmade bow, she was your gal. And in recent years her son, Chris, turned her into a formidable tag team partner on New York Times crossword puzzles and Badger basketball cheerleading (”That was a foul!!”). She was a truly lovely lady on top of being a devoted wife and mother, and will be missed by everyone who knew her. We know that she is in a happy place reuniting with those who passed before, but we’re pretty sure she’ll still be keeping an eye on us here.  

Sharon was preceded in death by husband, Jim. She is survived by sons, Timothy (Sheila) of Fond du Lac and Christian of Madison; grandsons, Eric (Nik), Brian (Meredith) and Keegan (Beth); great-grandsons, Kieran and Nolan; and her beloved big brother, Jim Buckley (Marsha).

A funeral service will be held at LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE LIVING CHRIST  110 N. Gammon Road, Madison, at 12 noon on Thursday, May 29, 2025, with Pastor Dan Kowert presiding. Visitation will be held at the church from 11 a.m. until the start of the service on Thursday.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lutheran Church of the Living Christ or to Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson West

Funeral & Cremation Care

7435 University Ave.

(608) 831-6761