Sharon Linnette Hopkins Young

Sharon Linnette Hopkins Young was born in San Antonio, Texas on April 28, 1942 to Samuel Bunch Hopkins III and Ella Mae Hunt Hopkins. She lived in many different places and many different homes throughout her childhood, including on a ranch in Dripping Springs, where she had a pet goat named Isabella, who thought she was a cow and would meet the school bus every day.

After graduating from Dripping Springs High School, Sharon attended the University of Texas at Austin, and eventually the University of Houston. She spent several years as a teacher of many different subjects, including English, Spanish, and theater. In Houston, she met John David Young, a fellow high school teacher, whom she married in 1969 in Austin. They moved to Gainesville, Texas in 1973 and back to Austin in 1978. They remained married until his death in 2003.

Sharon was thrilled to be a mother of three daughters and later a grandmother. She was a fierce advocate of healthy food, seatbelts, and imaginative play for children. She wrote children’s stories and poems, including the title story for the Highlights’ collection “Frog for a Day.” She loved Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and wrote two operas in his style, which she performed with her children. When out with her daughters and grandchildren, she loved to say, “I’m the grandmother!”

She died in Austin on January 27, 2023.

She is survived by her older sister Ella Rinn; her three daughters, Sally Hartin-Young and husband Tom Hartin; Mandy Kutz and husband Andrew; and Betsy Young and partner Bobby Dean; three granddaughters: Ruby and Daisy Hartin, and Effie Kutz; and one grandson, August Kutz.

A graveside service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 2 at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.wcfishnorth.com for the Young family.