Sharon Lee Cockburn Life Story

With the help of Selma Aweeka Brooks and Sharon’s sister Judie Cockburn I wrote Sharon’s life story, in brief, for her children.



A Tribute to Sharon Lee Cockburn

Sharon was born in October of 1936 in Sonoma, California. Her father was a Mortician who ran the Walnut Creek Mortuary on Locust Street. She had two younger sisters who she cared about very much. Judie was eight years younger and Carol was twelve years younger.

Sharon attended Walnut Creek Grammar School and then Acalanes High School with a lot of us. Sharon was always fun in school. She was friendly and smiled a lot. In high school she was in the performing modern dance group in her Junior and Senior years. This group put on two shows a year for the community. It was always as well attended as a school football game. She was also in Girls Athletic Association were she participated in the swimming, softball, tennis and other sports. Finally she was involved in a women’s group which raised money for charitable organizations through a Mothers Tea and fashion shows among other things. Sharon was one of the models along with one of her sister’s.
After high school she attended Diablo Valley Junior
College. The college was just starting and she attended classes in temporary tents that were set on the campus. After one year in college she went to work for one of the banks in the Bay Area. Her banking experience helped her for the rest of her life in getting jobs.

Sharon first married Fred Von Bargen who worked for Shell Oil Companies so she got to travel around the country a bite. Sharon had her first child, Kristen, in 1964. Sharon and her family moved to the New York area. Sharon was always a very good hostess and helped her husband succeed with dinner parties and special business events.

Sharon did not like the East Coast living she yearned for the West. So she and her daughter moved back to California were she started working in the Squaw Valley in the Tahoe area. While working she met and married Hewitt Clark. Hewitt was an Architect and developer in the Tahoe area. Sharon had her second child, Christopher, in 1967. Sharon’s family followed Hewitt as his building projects lead him to Hawaii, Carmel and other Western locations.
After awhile time got tough financially and Sharon returned to the Tahoe, Reno areas to find employment. She ended
up working there for the rest of her life.

Sharon’s family had a history of thyroid problems. The complications from this and other health problems finally took her life in 1986. Many of her classmates would have loved to have been able to talk to her one more time.