Sharon Vawter, 81, of Porter, passed away Saturday, June 20, 2009 in
Chesterton.
She was born on September 14, 1927 at Mercy Hospital in Gary, the daughter
of A. Myron and Margaret F. Harris, both of whom preceded her in death.
Sharon was also preceded in death by aunt, Naomi Phillips, who was in real
estate in Chesterton for many years. Naomi raised Sharon from the time she
was eleven, when her mother died, until she was 18 years old.
She was preceded by her husband, William O. Williams; and husband, Albert
“Jay” Vawter, who passed away in 1990.
Sharon is survived by her children, Jon (Vickie) Williams of Chesterton,
William “Bill” (Janet) Williams of Valparaiso, Terry Williams, and Stephane
(Larry) Tonello of Wis.; grandchildren, Terry (Meg) Crain, Becky (Larry)
Hughes and Cristi Williams; great grandchildren, Sebastian and Aiden Hughes
and Elsie Crain; several close cousins, including Elizabeth Phillips Redar
of Hobart and several in Sullivan, Ind.
Sharon was also preceded in death by brother, A. Myron Harris Jr., who
drowned at two years old in 1936 at the Gary Country Club;
During World War II, when she was 17, Sharon worked at Wilbar Plant in
Chesterton, working on machinery that put out casings for shells and oval
parts for aerial cameras. On VJ Day, everybody took off work and rode around
Chesterton celebrating the end of the war. She also worked at old Morgan’s
Hardware and State Park Drug Store.
When living with her aunt, they lived in two unique homes locally; Bailly
Homestead from 1938-1940 and the Gustafson Home, which is now the
Westchester Twp. Museum. She attended Chesterton Grade School in 7th and 8th
grade, finished school in Florida, and came back to the Chesterton area in
1943. She belonged to the Chesterton Jr. Women’s Club, was a member of the
American Legion Auxiliary for 45 years, and was a member of the Women of the
Moose Lodge for 20 years.
Cremation will be performed at Heritage Crematory, Portage, with interment
of ashes at Chesterton Cemetery and a memorial service held at a later date.
The family requests memorials be made to the First Christian Church, 1110 W.
Porter Ave., Chesterton.
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