Sharon Adonna Delaney Storlie was born April 5, 1939, the only child of Chester Monroe Delaney and Ada Francelia (Frances) Robinson Delaney.
Sharon attended country school in Freeport, Iowa, where her mother and aunt were teachers. She graduated from Decorah High School in 1957.
She attended Luther College for one year, until she fell for the older brother of a high school classmate who had returned from Korea and aviation school in Miami, Fla.
Sharon married Llewellyn Ordell Storlie on October 18, 1958. The newlyweds moved to Tampa, Fla., for Lew’s work. After a year they were back in the Midwest where they built a home in Freeport, Iowa, with wood they cut and milled on a farm Sharon inherited from her aunt.
Sharon gave birth to four children during this time, and she operated the farm with the older children while Lew managed Deco Products in Decorah.
In 1974, Sharon and Lew were very pleased to buy and move their family to the Storlie ancestral farm five miles west of Spring Grove, Minn.
Sharon assisted greatly in farming as they expanded the farm to 400 acres. After all her children could drive, she even went back to school and earned her degree from Luther College in 1990. She served Houston County as a social worker until retiring in 2000.
Sharon enjoyed gardening, beautiful flowers, mowing the lawn, piano, holidays with family, writing and receiving cards, letters, phone calls, attending monthly gatherings with classmates from high school, and Anna Circle at Trinity Lutheran Church. Above all, she loved reading to and playing with her grandchildren. Her family fondly remembers her tea parties and lunch dates.
Throughout her life, she visited her children whenever she could, even traveling alone by bus. After they both retired, Sharon and Lew took many trips to Branson where they attended Molly Busta’s shows. (Sharon said she didn’t wash her cheek for a week after Irish Country singer Danny O’Donnell planted a kiss there at one of his concerts.)
Sharon survived cancer for 10 years, and her first stroke for six.
This year, she was taken by ambulance to intensive care at Gundersen Lutheran in La Crosse on January 28 after a hemorrhagic stroke and was released to Tweeten Health Care in Spring Grove on February 19.
After many months in quarantine, Sharon suddenly began a rapid decline. With the assistance of hospice care, we were able to move her home quickly on Monday. Her entire family was elated to have her with us after months in quarantine so we could visit personally with her.
She passed peacefully with her family around her, singing, reading, and praying. Sharon died at 81 years of age.
Sharon was preceded in death by her parents, Chester and Frances Delaney.
Sharon is survived by her husband Lew; her children: Jillellyn, Chris (Rhonda), John (Jodi), and David (Rachel); grandchildren: Christina (Andrew), Andrew (Laura), Katie, Elyse, Ole, Celia, Liam, Dylan, and Ava; and great-grandchildren: Heidi, Jack and Clara.
A private family service will be held on Saturday, June 6, at Roble Funeral Home in Spring Grove.
We will also honor Sharon’s life with friends and relatives on a date to be determined.
Memorials can be sent to Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, which Sharon cared about dearly.
Jill Storlie says
Due to the restrictions of COVID-19, we, the FAMILY plan to have a CELEBRATION OF LIFE at a future date when gatherings are safer. Please keep in touch with us so we invite you to that future gathering so all her FRIENDS and “Sisters” can join together. The private service we were restricted to was very nice, comforting and celebratory however. The day was beautiful and we had a nice graveside service with music and words. Thanks to Rev. Lane Zaffke, Rachel and David Storlie for the music. She no doubt liked it a lot. However, we know that she felt funerals were the only time some friends and cousins interact with immediate family, so we know she would want this Celebration of Life to occur as well.