Sharon Baxter

Wife, mother, grandmother

Born: December 28, 1953
Died: November 6, 2012 in Hamilton, Ontario,Canada
Interred: Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, Ancaster

Sharon was born to Edie Morris, an unwed mother of an 18- month-old daughter. Shortly after Sharon’s birth on December 28, 1953, she was inadvertently put up for adoption. Edie assumed she was placing Sharon in foster care until she could find suitable housing for her family, but she actually signed an order of adoption.

It took 56 years for Edie to find Sharon and introduce her to her four sisters and a brother. Sharon had been raised as an only child and often wondered what it would be like to have siblings. She was elated to finally meet her birth family.

At three months, Sharon was placed in the temporary custody of Cyril and Vera Grant of Banbury, Oxfordshire, and was adopted on November 21, 1955. In July 1956, the family immigrated to Canada.

As a child, Sharon was quiet and shy, an avid reader from a young age. She attended Barton Secondary School and transferred to Sir John A. Macdonald where she took Fashion Arts and Modeling. After graduation she worked briefly as a model, and part-time as a receptionist/typist for Kelly Girl Temp Agency.

It was at this time that I finally noticed this tall, skinny blonde girl who used to hang around with my sister. We dated for only three weeks before I asked her to be my bride. To my surprise, she immediately said yes. We were married a year later on September 8, 1973, at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church.

Sharon was a loving, devoted wife and mother to our three children, Lisa, Michelle and Grant. She read to them every night before bed and kept them amused during the day. She remained at home until all three were in school full time.

When she returned to the workforce, she was first employed at Ontario March of Dimes attending to the needs of the disabled, and then as private caregiver to Shirley McBride, whose husband was heir to the Robinson’s department store chain.

It was soon after Shirley’s death that Sharon’s own health prevented her from returning to work. In March 2012 she was diagnosed with lung cancer. A strong woman with great faith, she believed she could beat the cancer that eventually took her from us.

We will miss her smiling face, warm embrace, compassion and counsel. Always in our thoughts and prayers, never to be forgotten.