Sharon (Burks) Gordon

Sharon Burks Gordon, age 78, of Houston, Texas passed away of natural causes on Saturday June 13, 2020. She leaves behind a beloved daughter, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews, and many, many good friends.

Sharon could light up any room, and she carried this fire for life until the very end. A true people person, she asked for the name and life story of everyone she met, and was genuinely interested to discover more about them.

Sharon graduated Northwestern University a member of Tri-Delta sorority. She was a great Big 10 football fan; even though she passed in June, she kept asking if there were any ‘games’ on tv!

As Director of Volunteers at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, her people-person skills were put to much good use. After the museum, she continued to work in non-profit, as well as part-time at The Container Store; she loved their products, but never quite personally deployed them to maximum effect.

In her retirement, she was a member of up to 10 concurrent book groups; her love of books was lifelong. She was a founding member of a Great Decisions group, which has been meeting in Houston for 35 years.

Crafting was another of her varied interests: crochet, quilting, needlepoint, knitting, and painting. Near the end of her life, the only way she could reconcile donating her beloved sewing machine (“It’s not a home without a sewing machine in it!”) was with the knowledge it was being put to immediate use making Covid-19 face masks, an effort of which she was very happy to be a part.

She lived all over the country and travelled around the world.

While she flirted with Pepsi in the 70s/80s, she had a Coke every day thereafter.

There will be no in-person memorial service at present, due to Covid-19 concerns, though one may be planned at a later date. A private online service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests charitable donations be made in Sharon’s name. Following are a few that are meaningful to her.

Scleroderma Foundation - https://www.scleroderma.org

American Lung Association - https://www.lung.org

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center - https://www.giveblood.org

YMCA of Greater Houston: https://www.ymcahouston.org/give-form