Sharkey Fink

Charlotte “Sharkey” Flintermann Fink of Santa Barbara, California passed away gracefully and peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family after a brief battle with cancer. Sharkey was born in Detroit, Michigan the eldest of five siblings and was raised in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. She spent most of her nearly 70 summers at Higgins Lake, Michigan. She attended Wells College and received a B.S. from Columbia University in 1966. Also in 1966, she married John Fink, an actor, and they resided in New York City before moving to Los Angeles in 1970. In 1978 John and Sharkey moved to Santa Barbara where they settled and raised their children. She was a supporter and board member of the Cancer Victors and Friends and was instrumental in founding the Waldorf School of Santa Barbara. She homeschooled her children through eighth grade and was proud to see them both go on to graduate from Harvard College. Sharkey was a teacher in every way – she created a beautiful and love-filled home where she tutored and guided countless people in topics from the mundane to the divine – a master craftswoman who gave lessons on subjects from carpentry to cross-stitch, and a sage who taught love and laughter. Hyper-competent, creative, and good-naturedly competitive, she excelled at everything she tried, earning a reputation as a ping-pong master, a trivia whiz, and an accomplished painter. She was a force of nature.

Sharkey was preceded in death by her parents Donald and Mary Flintermann, her daughter Phoebe Fink, and her brother Andy Flintermann.

Sharkey is survived by her husband John Fink, her sisters Barbara Alter and Mary Smart, her brother Rocky Flintermann, her children Andy Fink and Lily Harrington, their spouses Kelly Brogan and John Harrington, her three granddaughters Sofia and Lucia Fink and Charlotte Harrington, and countless other friends and family whose lives she electrified and inspired.