Sharon Coker

Retired Director of Museums for the City of Las Cruces, Sharon Bode-(Hempton) Coker, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, at Mesilla Valley Hospice following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Sharon was born in Toledo, Ohio, to Leonard and Betty Bode on April 2nd of 1943. The family moved to Tulsa, Okla., in 1952, and she remained there for the rest of her school years. Sharon's creativity was obvious and she excelled in art from the start. After graduating from Nathan Hale High School in 1961, she attended the University of Tulsa where she earned a BA in Fine Arts and an MA in Art History. Sharon's eye for the beautiful and soft hand has garnered international recognition, and her artwork has been featured in exhibitions all over the United States, as well as Peru, Montreal, Quebec, and Mexico. Sharon devoted much of her seemingly bottomless energies to sharing her deep love of art, history and culture with her community. She began her path of public service administering children's art programs at Johnson Atelier in Tulsa, Okla. in the early '80s. Before coming to Las Cruces in 1987 to accept the position of Museum Director for the Branigan Cultural Center, Sharon lived and worked in St. Paul serving as curator and director of Children's Programs at the Minnesota Museum of Art. Over the course of her 17-year tenure with the BCC, the city's museum programs and facilities grew exponentially. She began by instituting the summer arts classes for children, which later grew to include adult and children's classes and workshops offered year-round. Only three years later, in 1990, in recognition of her contributions to the arts in New Mexico, then Governor Garrey Carruthers appointed Sharon "Colonel, Aide de Camp" to his staff. By 1992, the Las Cruces Museum of Art opened its doors under her direction. She was later recognized by Governor Bill Richardson as a recipient of the Governor's Award for Outstanding New Mexico Women, an award that honors extraordinary women who give of themselves to make their communities and New Mexico a better place to live. Among many other grants and honors during her tenure, BCC was awarded Excellence in Humanities Award by the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities in 1995 for its exhibits and programs to promote community understanding of local and regional history and culture in New Mexcio. In the ensuing years, Sharon's dedication and tenacity brought the City of Las Cruces the Railroad Museum, expansion of the Natural History Museum, expansion of art programs offered in LCPS district through the Another Planet program, as well as expansions in the programming and exhibits offered at the Branigan Cultural Center, itself. Sharon is preceded in death by two of her stepchildren, Blair Coker of Albuquerque, N.M., and David Coker of Studio City, Calif.. She is survived by her parents, Leonard and Betty Bode of Tulsa, Okla.; her husband, Carl Coker; her brother and his wife, John and Klara Bode of Tulsa, Okla.; her daughter, Vanessa Alyce and her grandson, Zachary Arrieta, both of Las Cruces, N.M.; her stepson and his wife, John and Jill Schlegel of Santa Rosa, Calif.; her granddaughter and her husband, Keri and Russ Rutherford of Birmingham, Ala.; her daughter-in-law and granddaughters, Laura, Miranda and Sarah Coker of Studio City, Calif.; scores of cousins, nieces and nephews in Oklahoma, Ohio, Maine, Idaho, and Virginia; and a multitude of devoted and loyal friends. Sharon's insightful, creative spirit will be sorely missed by all. A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, Aug. 11th, 2012, at 1 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces, 2000 Solano Dr., Las Cruces, NM 88001. An additional memorial service will be held on Sept. 15, 2012, at 10 a.m., at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Okla. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Mesilla Valley Hospice in appreciation for their incredible care and concern in her final days.