Susan Jane Sharp

Susan Jane Peterson Sharp passed away in Rush City on January 21, 2011 after a short bout of pneumonia. She was born in St. Paul on June 16, 1919, the first child of Julian Mauritz Peterson and Susan Marion Gillard Peterson. Sue graduated from St. Paul Central High School, attended the University of Minnesota and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. She worked as a proofreader at West Publishing and was also the children’s librarian at the St. Paul Public Library. In 1940, she met John Malcolm (Jack) Sharp on a blind date during the St. Paul Winter Carnival. They were instantly in love and continued their courtship through his naval training and deployments. Sue and Jack married in San Francisco in 1943. Their first child, John Malcolm, Jr. was born in 1944, and as a young family after World War II, they lived in a Quonset hut in University Village, as Jack pursued his law degree. After Jack passed the bar and started work with the State Attorney General, the family moved to Bald Eagle Lake. Moving to Pine City in 1955, the family grew to include daughter Susan Marion and son James Arthur. An artist from childhood, she pursued her interest in painting, illustrating, and design as a hobby. Many people received her Christmas, later Groundhog Day cards, and handmade cards adorned nearly any gift she gave. As she raised her children, her weeks were filled with a painting group and, at one point, 3 bridge clubs. She supported her children’s involvement in Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and her husband’s involvement with canoe racing. After years of occasional work at Jack’s office, she reentered the workforce in 1975 when she joined the City Clerk’s office. Not long after, she became the Pine City Librarian. One of her proudest accomplishments was writing a grant that brought the first computers for public use to the library. After retiring in the 1990s, she enjoyed the role of grandmother. She and Jack moved to assisted living in 2007. Her husband of 67 years, Jack, preceded her in death. Her survivors include her brother Julian Robert (Janet) Peterson of Del Ray Beach, FL; her sister Marion Phyllis Debus (William) of Deltona, FL; her children John (Carol) of Austin, TX; Marion (Noel Blyler) of Tacoma, WA; and Jim (Justine Blyler) of Pine City; seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. A celebration of her life is planned for June 2011. Memorials preferred to the Pine City Library Foundation, 300 5th Street, SE, Pine City, MN 55063.