Gloria D Sharp

Gloria Diane Harper Sharp, age 79, passed away on July 28, 2023 after a long illness. She was born in Atlanta on December 16, 1943 to Hubert and Lucy Shadburn Harper of College Park, Georgia. Diane graduated from College Park High School in 1961 and attended the University of Georgia, graduating in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, followed by an Master's degree, also in Spanish, in 1968. She met her husband Joe Sharp while working as a Spanish instructor at West Georgia College in Carrollton, GA, and they married on December 12, 1970.

Diane spent her life in Carrollton, teaching at West Georgia and Central High School, before attaining a PhD in Spanish from Emory in 1994. She then returned to West Georgia, where she finished her career as a full professor of Spanish, retiring in 2006. In retirement she focused on her many artistic hobbies, including quilting, painting, and music. A lifelong United Methodist, she was very active at St. Andrew UMC (now West Georgia Church), singing in the choir, performing mission work, and participating in, and often leading, activities in the Rome-Carrollton district and North Georgia Conference.

Diane was a passionate traveler, visiting Mexico multiple times with her West Georgia students and Spain, France, Britain, Ireland, and Canada with Joe and other friends and family. She spent several summers attending the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, where she and her sister Beverly would take classes on quilting, painting, and other folk arts. She was an active member of the West Georgia Quilters Guild and contributed her many works to their public shows.

Diane is survived by her husband, Joe Sharp of Decatur, her sons Chris (Lisa) Sharp of Tucker and Tommy (Mindy) McGarrah Sharp of Decatur, four grandchildren, and her sister Beverly Hammack of Carrollton. Services will be held at Floral Hills Funeral Home and Memory Gardens on Saturday, August 5 at 11:00 where interment will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org/) or to any other charity supporting Alzheimer’s research.

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