Sharon Lee Ballew's Obituary
Sharon L. Ballew passed away peacefully on Monday, November 20, 2023, at Senior Suites Health Care at the age of 81. She was preceded in death by her parents, Cloyse and Clarice Lucas, her sister, Barbara Harper and her husband, Gerald Ballew. Sharon is survived by eight children (step and biological), fourteen grandchildren, and thirteen great grandchildren.
Sharon was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Cloyse and Clarice Lucas on October 27, 1942. The family, along with her older sister Barbara, settled into a house at 17th and Memorial. Sharon could ride a bus downtown to shop, to West Tulsa where her horse was boarded, and attend school at East Central High School. Upon graduating high school, Sharon attended Northeastern State College for a year. Sharon enjoyed the nightlife in and around Tahlequah more than academics, so her college career was short. Cloyse told her “If anyone is going to party on my money it’s going to be me.” She returned to Tulsa, attended business school, and began working as a secretary.
Sharon met Robert (Bob) L. Edison and married him in romantic Mexico in July 1964. Her son Marcus (Marc) C. Edison was born in May the following year. Bob and Sharon divorced in September 1966. Sharon remarried in September 1967 to John Reid. Sharon and John moved to Tahlequah in 1969 and became part owners in a Chrysler dealership. While owning and working at the dealership, Sharon became quite the car salesperson. For years, she was the person to take with you if you were buying a car, she was quite the negotiator.
John and Sharon did not stay in the car business for long, they eventually sold their share. John went into the excavation business and Sharon went to work as the secretary for the owner of Greenleaf Nursery. One of John’s hobbies led Sharon to start her first business. John had taken up skydiving, but Tahlequah only had a skydiving club. The members rented an airplane from the local airport and took turns flying the plane. Sharon decided, “If they are crazy enough to jump out of an airplane, I am smart enough to make money off it.” She started the Big Apple Sport Parachute Center in Tahlequah. She bought her first airplane in 1977 but it was destroyed within a year during a storm. She (and the bank) would go on to own two Cessna 182s and had a long-term lease on a Beech 18. In 1978, John and Sharon divorced. Sharon changed jobs and went back to work at the Chrysler dealership while still operating the Big Apple. She eventually sold the business in 1979. She often told people she sold the parachute center before Marc was old enough to jump. Interestingly, Sharon never jumped and was never a rated pilot in the years she owned the Big Apple.
While working at the Chrysler dealership Sharon met Gerald (Jerry) Ballew. Jerry was the father of one of the jumpers at the Big Apple, but Sharon did not meet him until he was the superintendent of the construction crew building a new Western Auto next to the dealership. He often took a coffee break, came over to the dealership, had coffee, and chatted with Sharon. Jerry and Sharon moved to Broken Arrow when Sharon got a job with Natomas, an oil company in Tulsa. They married in 1983.
Sharon worked for Natomas for several years but always felt the desire to start another business. After working in wholesale jewelry with a friend she started the Market Place. She sold costume jewelry and women’s accessories to shops and boutiques. This suited Sharon who was a natural salesperson. Along with her wholesale business, she also dabbled in the retail market. She opened two different retail stores but decided she preferred the wholesale business.
In 1990, Sharon decided she needed more stability in her life and followed her son’s footsteps, going to work at FedEx Express. She began as a Customer Service Agent and eventually became a Courier. One of her first routes was a midday route covering 61st to 71st, Yale to Peoria. While on this midday route, Marc worked at the same station and was a reload captain and occasional acting manager. She was proud of her son but not happy about taking directions from him. Sharon bid to a morning route that covered Bixby, Leonard, and Haskell. Sharon loved this route, and her customers loved her. She retired from this route when Jerry became sick, and she needed to be with him.
Upon retirement from FedEx and the passing of Jerry, Sharon did her best to enjoy life. She worked part time at Enterprise Car Rental, moving cars from location to location. She traveled with her sister Barbara and other friends. She helped get her grandkids to soccer practice and games. She lived the grandparent life.
Throughout her life, the one thing that was constant for Sharon was her love for animals. She had horses, dogs, and cats as a child, and she did again every chance she could as an adult. One of her favorite stories was from when she lived on the farm North of Tahlequah. She caught her son Marc and his stepsisters Melissa and Julie bringing a calf into the house. As a mom, she had to reprimand them. Although to be honest, she later brought a sick, half frozen calf into the house to nurse it back to health. After moving to Broken Arrow, she adopted any cat that wandered up to her house, as well as a Great Dane that showed up during an ice storm. At one point there was an opossum under the shed that she swore she was not feeding. There was also a rabbit that managed to become a short-term house guest.
In addition to her love for animals, Sharon loved spoiling kids. Even though she only had one child, Marc, she had quite a few stepchildren over the years. While they may be considered stepchildren, she loved them all the same. One of her favorite things was building Christmas bags full of games, coloring books, and toys for the grandchildren.
Sharon is survived by her son, Marcus Edison and wife Leslie, stepchildren, Gary Ballew, Jamie Ballew and wife Dawn, David Ballew and wife Kim, Donna Garvin, Cathy Knowles and husband Russ, Melissa (Reid) Simmons and husband Jim, and Julie Reid. Grandchildren; Chad Ballew, Lindsey Ballew, Christen Bollinger and husband Travis, Dallas Knowles and wife Holly, Savannah Christy and husband Shane, Jared Ballew and wife Misty, Jake Ballew and wife Haley, Whitney Atteberry and husband Joey, Grant Ballew, Madison Ballew, Cassie Ballew, Drake Ballew and wife Grace, Alexa Edison, Ashlynn Edison and thirteen great-grandchildren.
The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of Senior Suites Health Care and Suncrest Hospice for their loving care of Sharon.
The Memorial service will be 10:00 AM, Friday, December 8, 2023, at Floral Haven Funeral Home Chapel
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