Sharon Lee Duncanson

Sharon L.Duncanson of Rochester Hills passed away peacefully on March 1, 2015. For the past 3 months she was in Hospice care after suffering a stroke. Rather than focus on the end of her life, we want to remember the person who was.

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Sharon was born April 8, 1933 to Fred and Isabel Macey in Detroit. She was the younger sister of Marilyn Gnagey, who predeceased her in 1973. In 1954 she married Gerald Duncanson and was married for 61 years. Their children are Michael, born in 1957 and David, in 1960.

A staunch and unapologetic Liberal, she was active in the NAACP, believing that all people had the right to equal treatment and decency. In the early 1960's she participated in Civil Rights marches in metro Detroit for Open Housing. During these marches she was subjected to the name calling and abuse one would expect for a White person picketing for the rights of people of color. Undeterred, she remained an advocate for equal rights for all people regardless of race, creed, religion or sexual orientation for the rest of her days.

Sherry was a teacher for 30 years and retired from the Lamphere Public Schools in Madison Heights, Michigan. While she was known as a good teacher, she was also known as a caring and compassionate human being. She was drawn to the troubled students, the outcast students, the physically and mentally challenged students and took it upon herself to make sure they felt loved and accepted. When she taught at John Page Middle School she noticed that some of the students were isolated from the "in crowd" in the Cafeteria. She invited those kids to come down to her classroom and eat lunch with her so they would not feel rejected. Over time there were many students who ate lunch in her classroom, where they could feel loved and accepted for who they were. She made extra sandwiches and brought in fruit and chips for those kids who forgot their lunch or whose families did not have the money to buy one. She gave of her hugs generously.

A lifelong spiritual person, she developed a religious sensibility that included aspects of Christianity as well as Eastern religious beliefs including the elements of Buddhism and Hinduism which included karma and reincarnation. She truly believed that every living thing deserved love, kindness, and respect. This extended to all living things including numerous pets through the years as well as all the birds within flight of the bird-feeder in the backyard. She was a passionate bird watcher and insisted that the bird feeder and birdbath be constantly filled, even in the worst weather.

In her later years she and Gerry took in friends to their home, where they were helped to the ends of their lives. These people included Avery A, Mueller of Rochester Hills and Dr. Robert H. Groves of Albany, Georgia. While some would be uncomfortable at the prospect of "strangers" living in their home, they opened their arms and hearts to these friends in need and welcomed them into our family. They became treasured members of our families and were loved as our own.

Sherry was known for her quick, wicked, and oftentimes off-color sense of humor. She took great delight in telling and hearing jokes which would offend the delicate listener. When her children got out of hand with their jokes she would have to be reminded that "the rotten apple does not fall far from the twisted tree". We all got a good laugh out of that!

Sherry was a treasure. Much of what her children and Grandchildren are today they owe to her. She and Gerry have always been their families’ biggest supporters, their largest fans, and gave the best that a parent could offer to their child to make them feel loved.

As this is written we are not sad or grieving. That part of the passing happened over the last 3 months when we helped her as she declined. As she would want, we celebrate her amazing life, her boundless love for everyone around her, and her loving spirit. We are proud to have called her Mom.

Before she passed she promised that she would do 2 things for us when she reached the spirit plane: to tell our Grandparents how much we loved them when she saw them again, and for her to be waiting for US when we pass on. We can't wait to see her again when it's our time. She is much loved.

Memorial donations suggested to the Michigan Humane Society 3600 Auburn Rd., Rochester Hills, MI 48309.