Sharron E Barnes

Born to Orville and Harriet England on January 26, 1940 in Clinton, Oklahoma, Sharron soon found herself traveling around the country with her parents in the early years of World War II. After they settled in the Pensacola area, she graduated from Tate High School in Cantonment, Florida and went on to Birmingham Southern College and Auburn University where she received her BA. Always interested in higher education, she continued her studies at the University of West Florida and Florida State University where she received her MA in Art in 1965.

Sharron found her professional calling as an art professor at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida where she enjoyed teaching and fostering in her students a love and appreciation for the arts. Starting there in 1967, she developed programs in photography, crafts design and assisted adjuncts in expanding the art department program. Always a passionate protector of the arts, she wrote a grant with the Florida Humanities Council examining the need to preserve native archeological sites in the state. While in Panama City, she was an active member of the art community serving as an original board member of the Junior Museum and on the board of directors for the Visual Arts Center for many years.

After retirement, she enjoyed spending summers at her house in the North Carolina mountains and winters in Panama City, ultimately moving up to North Carolina full time after the birth of her granddaughter, Taylor, in Charlotte. She enjoyed spending her retirement years adjudicating art shows and consulting regionally, as well as traveling with her life partner of many years, JP Lagerloef, visiting Thailand, Hong Kong and art history sites throughout Europe. She established an art studio in Spruce Pine enjoining the art community in the Penland area of North Carolina.

Although she enjoyed a lifetime love of the arts, as with most mothers, her children were her greatest joy in life. She made it her mission to aid and to support them in the achievement of their ultimate goals. She is survived by her children, Sharrol Barnes (Robert Phillips), a physician in Charlotte, North Carolina and Brian Barnes, an attorney in Panama City, Florida and granddaughter, Taylor Phillips. Additionally, she is survived by her sister, Sara Cobbs (Dennis) of Blakely, Georgia and brother, Steve England (Cathy) of Cantonment, Florida as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Due to the current circumstances, a private memorial service will take place at a later time. In lieu of flowers, those desiring may make a memorial donation to the Gulf Coast State College Foundation or the Penland School of Craft.

Online condolences may be shared at www.mcewenpinevillechapel.com.