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John Sharp of Oakville passed away peacefully Aug. 10, 2025, at Tacoma General Hospital. He was 77. So many lives were touched by John’s positive attitude and smile, faith-filled optimism, and genuine love for everyone he met. His favorite poem is “Desiderata,” and he modeled his life after it. His love for people also mirrored the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. He was a blessing to the people who knew him. Another person who deeply affected John was Bishop Michael Kinney in Alaska. Mother Teresa was another person he greatly admired. They were his role models throughout his life.
He was born July 12, 1948, in Scott City, Kansas, to William “Bill” and Viola Guhr Sharp. John talked very fondly of his childhood in Dighton, Kansas, and the special relationship he had with Grandma Tilly. The family moved to Colorado, then New Mexico, and to Oakville in 1961 when John was in the eighth grade.
After graduating from high school, John attended the University of Puget Sound, where he earned a BA and eventually an MBA. Following that, he achieved his CPA. While in college, John married Lyn Jordan, and they began their family a couple of years later.
John taught accounting at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia; he was business manager at Ketchikan Community College; he had his own CPA practice in Tumwater; and he did accounting work for two real estate companies in the Olympia area. He did income tax work for several clients over the years but retired from that in 2023. He was involved in creating the Sharp Brothers Grinding Company, and John and his dad built The Wood Pellet Co. in Oakville in 1986–87. He was full of ideas and not afraid to try something new. In 1990, the family moved to New Zealand, where John was teaching at Massey University. John also worked at Pace Edwards and TransAlta in Centralia after returning from New Zealand. He retired from the Department of Revenue in Olympia in 2010.
In the 1970s, he got his private pilot’s license in Olympia. This enabled him to buy and fly a Luscombe floatplane when the family lived in Ketchikan. He loved flying his whole life. It was a dream to fly a multi-rotor machine. That didn’t come to be, but in retirement John took up flying a powered parachute.
He and Lyn bought a variety of RVs over the years, and they had many wonderful trips across the United States, to Arizona, and to other places of interest. He also loved “the Hill property” and spent many hours clearing and burning brush and running his mini-backhoe, Little Digger.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Lyn, and their children, Erin (Doug), Sean (Nichole), and Ian (Andria). John loved his grandchildren more than anything: Kaylee, William, Aidan, Kiri, Evan, Colin, and Jackson. He is also survived by his six brothers and sisters: Ron, Stan, Shari, Dane, Lory, and Erica Jo.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Chehalis Salvation Army or to Heifer International in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Funeral
A celebration of life will be held at 12 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Oakville United Methodist Church. There will be a reception following for a time of more sharing.
