Sharon Marie Beck (Burke), 81, peacefully passed into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on October 5th in Portland, Michigan, where she had been a resident of Country Living Senior Care.
Sharon was a sweet and gentle soul, having asked Jesus into her life as a very young girl. She was born July 27, 1939, the youngest of six children and grew up in Alma, Michigan on River Street, where her parents, Rudolph and Teacel Burke owned a small grocery store during the depression. All six Burke children worked in the store, which became a neighborhood “favorite”. After Sharon graduated from Alma High School, she studied to become a nurses aide and worked at Alma Hospital.
In 1969 she married Loren Beck and began her life as a hard-working farmer’s wife in Ithaca. She was an excellent housekeeper and enjoyed cooking, cleaning, knitting, helping on the farm, and serving on the Women’s Missionary Association at her church. She especially loved being the mother of her two children, Ted Beck (Michelle) of Ashley, and Cindy (Vernon) DuMond of Lake Odessa. Sharon is also survived by six grand-children; Levi, Hunter, Cody and John Beck, Tyler and Clay DuMond. Sharon was preceded in death by her parents (Rudolph and Teacel), her two sisters (and their husbands) Josephine Miller (Nelson), Julia Swett (Wayne), her two brothers Rhinehart and Theodore Burke and her late brother-in-law retired pastor Ward Sipes who entered into eternity only one day ahead of her. She is survived by her sister Bonnie Sipes of Jackson, Michigan, two of her sisters-in-law Becky Burke of Noblesville, Indiana and Barbara Burke of Brady, Nebraska and by her loving sister-in-law and friend Margie Drummond and husband retired Pastor Jerry Drummond of Ithaca, and Loren Beck of Ithaca.
Sharon will be grieved by her nineteen nephews and nieces from all over the United States and by so many supportive and loving friends in the Ithaca area. She will be especially missed by the residents and the devoted staff of Country Living Senior Care and by owners Kelly and Mike Grys, who treated her with such compassion and gave her the best loving care possible over the past few years.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 9th at East Washington United Brethren Church, 8051 S Crapo Road in Ashley with Pastor Roy Atherton officiating. Visitation will be from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. with a celebration of Sharon’s life to follow. In lieu of flowers, it was Sharon’s wish for donations to be made to the American Heart Association or to Samaritan’s Purse.
The family is being served by the Barden Funeral Home in Ithaca. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.bardenfuneralhome.com.