Mamie Heloise McGuire Sharp

Mamie Heloise McGuire Sharp was born on 21 June 1932 in Stonewall, Oklahoma to Doc Stewart and Emma Pearl King McGuire. She passed from this mortal existence on 18 July 2025 in Chickasha, Oklahoma at the age of 93. She is survived by her three children; Terry Sharp and wife Camille of Oklahoma City, Cheryl Wall of Oklahoma City, and Debby Johnson and husband Darcy of Muskegon, Michigan, along with 10 grandchildren, 29great grandchildren, and 4 great great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, all of her siblings and several nieces, nephews and cousins, as well as a great grandson, Xander Kai Elliott of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Mom was the youngest of 8 children, having 3 sisters and 4 brothers. Her sister Anna gave birth to a daughter Venita and shortly after died. My grandparents adopted her and raised her as their own. So, she technically had 4 sisters, one of them her niece who was an adopted sister. She was raised during the heart of the Great Depression and on a farm. She loved all her siblings but was particularly close to her brothers. As she wandered the farm, too young to do much work, they kept a protective eye on her. As brothers are want to do, they sometimes played pranks on her, which she looked back on with fondness.

She dearly loved her parents and often referred to them as her heroes. She was extremely close to both of them, and I know she is enjoying her Heavenly reunion with them. Mom is living proof of the promise made by God when He said, honor thy Father and thy Mother that thy days may be long upon the earth. She lived to be 93 years old and loved, respected and honored her parents all the days of her life. She often said that as she grew older her parents became wiser. I can say the same of her.

As she matured into a young woman she was able to attend school for a while. She graduated the Eighth grade at Pleasant Hill Schools near Ada, Oklahoma. She often spoke with much gratitude of her teachers there, remembering their names and how well they taught her schooling and life lessons.

When she was in her early twenties, she was introduced to a young man who was serving in the Army at the time. His name was Clinton Angus Sharp. He was from upstate New York and came to Oklahoma during his military service. They would meet in early March 1951 and would be married on 28 April of that same year. Her parents, my Granny and Papa, were not happy with this arrangement, but they acquiesced and accepted my Dad into the family.

This marriage resulted in the births of three children. They had an on and off again relationship marrying twice and divorcing twice between 1951 and 1996 when my Father passed away. Their relationship was fraught with highs and lows but for the most part they persevered. They moved around quite a bit as Dad chased employment opportunities. They eventually moved to Chickasha in the summer of 1966 and, for the most part, made their home here for the next 60 years. Mom lived at her last place of residence for almost 35 years. It was really the only home she knew as an adult. At the time of my Father’s death, they were divorced. Mom would never remarry.

Those three children would go on to have 10 children of their own. They would affectionately call her “Nanny”. This was the name given to her by her two oldest grandsons. It stuck and most people, family as well as friends, call her “Nanny”.

On September 9, 1956, my Mom and Dad were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Mom loved the Lord and spoke of their relationship often. She was a faithful member of the LDS Church, and her testimony never wavered. She was the rock of our family. Her legacy is one of love, family and the Lord. All of her children and most of her grandchildren have received their endowments in a Temple of the Lord and have gone on to have families of their own that they raise to be like their “Nanny”. She was a shining star and a great example to all who knew her. Her example of love, understanding and compassion will never be equaled. She will be sorely missed.

Her funeral service will be held in the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chickasha (1111 Ferguson Drive) at 10:30 a. m. on Wednesday July 23, 2025, with internment to follow in Pioneer Cemetery in Chickasha under the direction of Ferguson Funeral Home.

Thank you Mom for all the biscuits and gravy, beans and cornbread, for all the love, kisses, for protecting me and my sisters when we were young and for praying for us when we grew older. Thank you for teaching us about Jesus, for teaching us how to pray and for bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ into our lives. Thank you for always telling us how proud you were of us, and for praising our effort.

If anyone would like to make a donation to her favorite charity I know she would be very grateful. She sent money to St. Jude’s in Memphis, Tennessee every month for the past twenty years or more. She loved those little children so very much. I think she saw in them her own little ones who were dealing with health issues, particularly her grandson Stephen Sharp, her great grandson Porter Windom, and great grandson Dade Elliott.