Sharon Anne Brown Voegele

With family by her side, our beautiful mother, sister, and friend, Sharon Anne Brown Voegele, passed away peacefully, Friday, September 24, after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson’s Disease while watching her beloved Chicago Cubs and listening to the Rolling Stones. She was 72 years young.

Born and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, Sharon was incredibly proud of her Idaho roots. A graduate of Pocatello High School (Class of 1967), she met the love of her life, Jim, while attending Idaho State University. Sharon and Jim married on May 15th, 1971, and soon started a family. After moving to Chicago, Illinois for seven years following her husband’s corporate career relocation with McDonald’s, in 1983, Sharon and family moved again with what would be the beginning of an over thirty-year expat life spent in Southeast Asia that included stops in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore before settling back stateside in Salt Lake City, Utah.

While in Asia, Sharon was active within the expat and international school communities, as she was a room mom and PTA member (Hong Kong International School), Director of Child’s World International Pre-School (Taipei, Taiwan), PTA President (Taipei American School), Board of Directors member (Taipei American School), and the recipient of numerous international awards and acknowledgements. An educator and philanthropist at heart, she was a devoted volunteer and spent numerous years donating her time to orphanages throughout Taipei, Taiwan. Even in retirement, she stayed active volunteering as a reading tutor at Rolling Meadows Elementary School in West Valley City, Utah.

Sharon was an adventurer, a global citizen, a celebrated collector of rare Asian folk art and a dedicated friend to the innumerable amount of people she encountered during her domestic and international experiences. Smart, loving, fearless, loyal, enthusiastic and funny, Sharon had an eclectic taste of music and loved a good glass of wine, cooking, storytelling and her Irish and Scottish heritage. A devoted sports fan, Sharon was a steadfast Cubs, Chicago Bears, Utah Jazz, Boise State University, Idaho State University, and University of Utah fanatic.

Sharon’s sense of humor was one of a kind and never wavered even in the most difficult days of her illnesses. Her courage, strength and grace even after her Lupus, cancer and Parkinson’s diagnoses, was genuinely inspiring as she never complained but instead, chose to focus on the positives in life. Sharon was a true advocate for equality, welcomed diversity, loved learning and never shied away from a good debate. She believed in the goodness of people and respected the opinions of others, even if they were vastly different from her own.

Sharon lived life on her own terms, loved her family, was incredibly supportive of her husband and sons, adored her friends, put others first, and was rarely without a smile on her face. Sharon is survived by her sons Jason (Michelle), Ben (Emilee), sister Karen (Matt), brother Roby (Terri), grand dogs Kayla and Wrigley, as well as multiple nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

She was proceeded in death by her parents, Bartlett and Margaret Brown, in-laws William and Rita Voegele, husband James P. Voegele, brother-in-law Michael Voegele, sister Barta Jones and grand dog Guinness.

While we are relieved Sharon is out of pain and reunited with her husband, she will be missed greatly. She was a model of determination, indiscriminately kind, and unconditionally giving to all that knew her.

Sharon’s family would like to sincerely thank all staff members at The Legacy Village Taylorsville for the kindness, professionalism, care and dignity provided over the last few months of her life, Bristol Hospice, and the many doctors, PA’s, nurses, MA’s, CNA’s and PT’s that helped Sharon over the years, as you all truly became family.

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; Love leaves a memory no one can steal.” Irish Saying.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to The Ronald McDonald House of your choosing, The Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Foundation, Parkinson’s Foundation, or Lupus Foundation of America.

A celebration of Sharon’s life will be November 12, 2021 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Starks Funeral Parlor located at 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, Utah.

A mass will be November 13, 2021 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm at St. Thomas More Catholic Church located at 3015 East Creek Road, Salt Lake City, Utah.