Sharon Overstreet
1936 - 2018
Obituary
Sharon Lee (Ledbetter) Overstreet, 82,
went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday (July 21, 2018)
at Schowalter Villa in Hesston.
She was born Jan. 16, 1936, at Wichita
Hospital in Wichita. She was the only daughter of Eldora and Ernst
Ledbetter, who called her their "little Norwegian," as
Eldora's parents immigrated from Norway.
In her early teen years, her aunt
invited Sharon to church where she accepted Jesus Christ as her
personal Lord and Savior in Sunday School. A few months later, she
became an assistant with the Sunday School and subsequently took over
teaching when the teacher passed away the following year. Since the
late 1970s, she was a member of Meridian Baptist Church of Newton,
where she was the church secretary. For most of her adult years,
until her health made it impossible, she was actively ministering in
her community: in the church choir, teaching Sunday School, working
in AWANA, hosting fellowships at home (she loved to cook and had an
extensive collection of recipe books) and ministering in various
ladies groups.
She was also involved with her
children's participation in 4-H clubs and a community ladies' group,
Extension Homemakers' Units (EHU), now called the Kansas Association
for Family and Consumer Education (KAFCE).
Sharon's schooling took place in
Wichita, where she graduated from North High School in 1954 and
attended Friends University there. For one of her first jobs she
worked for Dr. Mary Blood, the first female pediatrician in Wichita.
She worked most of her life as a medical assistant and was active in
the Medical Assistants Association of Wichita. Her final employment,
ended by the back injury which led to medical disability for the rest
of her days, was as the office manager of Harvey County Home Health
and Hospice.
While working for Dr. Blood, she met a
nurse, Ethel Reed, who would become her aunt-in-law. Ethel introduced
her by mail to her nephew, Army Specialist James Overstreet,
stationed near Nuremberg, West Germany. After the initial
correspondence and courtship, they were engaged and together
purchased an engagement ring in Baltimore. They were married on May
5, 1963.
She is survived by her husband, James
Gene Overstreet of the home; daughter, Laura (Mike) Curtis of Newton;
son, Mark (Jill) Overstreet of Greenville, South Carolina;
grandchildren: Courtney, Cody, Ashton, Addison, Micaiah, Sarah,
Esther, Daniel and Jonathan; a great-grandchild, Cayden; and many
cousins, family and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30
a.m. Wednesday (July 25, 2018) at the Meridian Baptist Church.
Interment will be in the Greenwood Cemetery in Newton. The casket
will be open between 1 and 8 p.m. Tuesday (July 24, 2018) at Broadway
Colonial Funeral Home, Newton.
A memorial has been established with
the Meridian Baptist Church Missions Project. Contributions may be
sent to Broadway Colonial Funeral Home, 120 E. Broadway, Newton, KS
67114.
Condolences may be left at
www.broadwaycolonialfh.com.
Arrangements are by Broadway Colonial
Funeral Home, Newton.
