Portland – Sharon Marie Coombs, 58, formerly of Kennebunk / Wells, died on Thursday May 8, 2014. She was born in Portland on June 4, 1955, the eldest of seven children of Waneta (Boissonneault) and Robert Penney, Sr. She attended Falmouth High School, played on the basketball team and was recognized for her outstanding typing skills. She graduated with the Class of 1974.
Her first career was that of a homemaker for ten years before going to the Freeport Inn where she would become head housekeeper. For the last 24 years she has been at LL Bean, most recently on the help desk in the IT Department. Sharon’s innate kindness and contentiousness were ideally suited for the work she did for her friends and coworkers. Her generosity of spirit was a blessing to all who knew her and to the many who never would know her. She was nonjudgmental and could see the good in others. She was intuitive and remarkably supportive, even in a crisis.
Sharon had a “thing” about lighthouses. So much so that Harry even took her to the West Coast to visit lighthouses out there. She collected ceramic lighthouse thimbles & bells because … just because. She enjoyed playing Yatzhee and taking long walks with family and friends. One of her legs was always moving. But nothing – absolutely nothing gave Sharon greater pleasure than her three grandchildren.
A tragic experience when she was 13 forever prioritized what was most important in her life. A house fire destroyed everything the family had and when she turned to her mother and expressed their great loss – her mother simply said, “We still have each other”. Sharon was the proverbial “big sister”, always available to others and ready to give without expectation of any return. She became the “glue” of the family and was the one who organized the family reunions. Family and friends were what life is all about for Sharon and you could count on receiving a card on those special occasions or for no reason at all just to remind you of how special you were to her.
Of course, life has a way of coming and going and forever changing. Diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2011, treatment was successful. Stage four lung cancer appeared three months ago, in the form of brain tumors, which eventually paralyzed her entire right side. Nevertheless, she retained her smile, her delightful laugh and her hugs continued to offer genuine love and acceptance.
Sharon is survived by her husband of five years, Harry Coombs of Kennebunk; her daughter Karen Roman and her husband Bill Jr. of Rockland and their children Nicholas and Sabrina; her son Keith Jaynes and his wife Rachael and their son Landon of Gray; their father David Jaynes of Falmouth; her mother Waneta Penney of Silver Springs, FL; her father Robert Penney Sr. and his wife Nancy of South Berwick; her sister Theresa Porter and her husband Timothy of Glenburn; her sister Cathy Atherns and her husband Lynn of Union; her sister Jackie Finik and her husband Jeff of Durham; her brother Bob Penney, Jr. and his wife Deb of Brunswick; her brother Billy Penney of Yarmouth; her brother-in-law Shawn Ruest of Durham; her mother and father-in-law Urban and Marion Coombs of Sanford; her step-daughter Heather Willey of Perry, ME; many nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. Sharon was predeceased by her sister Diane Ruest.
A time of gathering and celebration of Sharon’s life will be held on Thursday May 15 from 4 – 7 PM at Lindquist Funeral Home, One Mayberry Lane, Yarmouth, ME. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday May 16 at 1:00 PM at St. Jude’s Catholic Church, Main and School Street, Freeport. Burial will follow in Burr Cemetery, 56 Durham Road, Freeport. Please visit www.lindquistfuneralhome.com to view a video collage of Sharon’s life and to share condolences, memories and tributes with her family.
Sharon’s family respectfully requests donations in her memory to: American Cancer Society, NE Division, Inc., 1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 300, Topsham, ME 04086
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.9.6