Sharon Mary Delano Keigley died April 10, 2008, surrounded by her loving family. Sharon had been on vacation with her sisters in California and flew back to Salt Lake City to spend a few days with her son Jack when she became ill, and was hospitalized with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. She fought hard for three and a half weeks before joining her late husband, James Denzil Keigley, whom she had missed terribly for three years.


Sharon was born on May 6, 1942 in Powell, Mary and Arlie Delano of Frannie. She was twelfth of thirteen children and was raised on the dairy farm which her father homesteaded. She graduated from high school in 1960 and married Jim that same summer. After living in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming for seven years, they settled in Gypsum in 1967 where they raised their five children. Sharon went back to work once their children were in school. She worked as the librarian in the Gypsum Community Library for several years, then for Gypsum Sanitation District until it was merged with the Town of Gypsum. Sharon served as Deputy Town Clerk for a number of years before becoming Town Clerk for the following eighteen years. After taking an early retirement in 1998, she and Jim moved to Grand Junction to enjoy their retirement years.


Together they spent their time traveling, boating, camping, oil painting and making porcelain statues and dolls. Sharon used one of her many talents, sewing, to dress the dolls, like she did her daughters and granddaughters, in fancy little dresses, which she loved to make. Many locals and family members will treasure the hand made gifts they received from the Keigley’s for many years to come.


Sharon is survived by her five children, Lorynda and Mike Fowler of Gypsum, Jim Jr. of Silt, Jack and Jackie Keigley of Riverton, Utah, Lisa and Paul Gordon of Gypsum, and Leah Keigley; thirteen grandchildren and two great grandsons; siblings, Clifford Asay of Taos, N.M., Maxine Wambeke of Deaver, Ethel Krecklow of Chula Vista, Calif., Arleen Christianson of Billings and Carloyn Petty of Federal Way, Wash.


Services were held Friday, April 18 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Grand Junction, Colorado. Interment followed at Veterans Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado.