Sharon Meister
Sharon Lee Van Duyne Meister passed away peacefully at home two days short of her 77 th birthday. She battled ovarian cancer for the last 16 years – something her team of doctors and nurses were amazed by!
Sharon was born in 1947 in Somerville, NJ. Her family moved out west to Arcadia, CA when she was in 8th grade. As fate would have it the Van Duynes settled across the street from the Meister family.
Craig and Sharon became an item while attending Arroyo High School. Sharon was involved with student government and cheerleading. She graduated in 1965. Teaching beckoned Sharon and she majored in Education at Cal Poly Pomona. Her first job was a first-grade class in East LA. She never looked back.
Sharon and Craig got married in 1969 in Arcadia. They had Tim soon after. They spent a short time in Oklahoma for Craig’s military training and Ashley was born there. The Meisters knew they had to get back to Southern California, so they did, and Sharon soon began teaching again. In 1980, the cute family of 4 headed north and landed in Carpinteria. Sharon got a job at Kinderkirk preschool, where she taught for nearly a decade. She later taught first grade at Hollister Elementary in Goleta, all while raising a family and supporting Craig’s growing CPA business.
Sharon loved watching her kids thrive growing up in Carpinteria. She went to every single Warriors sporting event to support Tim playing and Ashley cheering.
But without a doubt, what made Sharon the happiest was spending time with her 5 grandkids. She absolutely loved playing board games, solitaire, puppets, baking and art. She taught them her favorite songs and how to play “Heart and Soul” on the piano. The kids gave her the title, “Gaga.” Every summer Gaga would host each one individually for a few days. She would plan out special activities tailored to their individual interests. This was what made Sharon’s soul smile. She loved every second she got to spend with the kids. She attended as many games and dance recitals as she could. The joy Gaga found in this was absolutely her reason to battle cancer for as long as she did.
Sharon is survived by her husband Craig, kids Tim and Ashley, their spouses Courtney and Brett and 5 grandchildren Tyler, Kaedyn, Koltyn, Logan and Callie.