sharonkooiman

Sharon Louise (Landis) Kooiman: a Remembrance

written by Marilyn P., her sister

Sharon was the youngest daughter of Lewis and Marguerite Landis, born February 23, 1946 at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids.  She was a fun loving child and this continued her whole life.  She loved to have a good time, to eat out, to go to plays and activities with friends and especially loved to travel.  She and Don traveled many places throughout the U.S. and took several cruises which she thought were wonderful.  She loved parties and loved to dance.

Sharon was a show no fear kind of child.  At the age of nine a neighbor girl was supposed to take her to the old Ramona Amusement Park.  When the neighbor failed to show, Sharon took a bus, made the transfers, went on the rides, and came home – all by herself.

Because of her father’s illness early in her life, her family consisted of her mother, Marguerite, and her sister, Marilyn.  They moved many times throughout her childhood, living in six different places and changing schools five times.  Sharon’s mother was a fun loving and playful, and there was almost never a time when her children’s friends weren’t welcomed.  Sleepovers and slumber parties were regular, and Sharon loved them.  She attended Camp Blodgett and Camp O’Malley a number of times.  She spent time with relatives as well.  For a time, after a move, her Uncle Herm and Aunt Margaret came every Sunday to take the family to church and have them to Sunday dinner.  There were times spent with Uncle Ralph and Aunt Viola and the cousins too, so that Marguerite could have time for herself or to visit friends.  There were also frequent visits and sleepovers with an aunt and uncle on her mother’s side.

Church and church activities were a big part of Sharon’s life.  As a girl she attended Calvary Undenominational on Michigan Street and was church secretary there for a time.  She loved to sing and sang in several church choirs.  She was also involved in a group called Weaving Ethnicity.  She believed strongly that the world was best served by the inclusion and acceptance of all races and ethnicities and worked toward that with this group.  She made many friends through it as well.

Sharon graduated Central High School in 1964 and went to the new Grand Valley State College for a short while.  After that she did office work.  She was an efficient and very rapid typist – she could type up to 120 words per minute with almost no mistakes!  The occupation she loved most, though, came later in life.  She loved being a consultant for Mary Kay cosmetics.  She was involved with Mary Kay for a quarter century.  She liked the independence of it and how it gave a natural outlet for her own friendly and social nature. 

Sharon met her husband Don in a roundabout way.  Calvary Undenominational Church asked its members to send Christmas cards to servicemen abroad one year.  Sharon sent a card to all of the servicemen on the list, and Don wrote back.  When he came stateside again, they met, dated, and married in October of 1966.  They bought a house in Comstock Park at the time of their marriage, and it was to be their lifelong home.

One of the greatest joys of Sharon’s life was her son, Ryan.  He came into their lives after twelve years of marriage and changed everything.  Like any mother, Sharon sometimes was frustrated with the rigors of the position, but parenting her son brought her a sense of joy and pride, and she thought he turned into a wonderful young man who was talented and good.  Because of her illness Sharon didn’t have much opportunity to know her granddaughter, Alexis Ray, but she thought Alexis was a beautiful child and always wanted to hear more about how she was developing and growing.

The last dozen years of Sharon’s life were filled with illness, surgeries, and hospitalizations, both her own and then her husband Don’s sudden physical collapse.  She endured all of this, growing weary but never asking, “Why me?”  Now Sharon has finished her work here.  God’s word says she’ll have a new body, whole and lovely.  She is present with the Lord now and with loved ones who have gone before her.  Praise God. 

Sharon Kooiman died on June 20, 2007 of complications of diabetes.  She was survived by her husband Don, her son Ryan (Alicia), her granddaughter Alexis, her sister Marilyn (Vern), and two nieces.