Sharon L. Wesala

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Montana State University Northern

Sharon Wesala Obituary

Name: Memorial service for Sharon L. Wesala
Start: 2018-04-26T18:00:00.000Z
Location: Saint Raphael Roman Catholic Church

Sharon L. Wesala

Glendale - Sharon L. Wesala passed away peacefully in her sleep the morning of April 8th, 2018 at her home in Glendale, Arizona. Sharon was born in Kalispell, Montana and was the only child of Leo and Evelyn Rowlan. She graduated from Montana State University Northern, with a Teaching Degree. She was preceded in death by her husband, Kalle Wesala Jr. She is survived by her children, James Wesala (Jennifer) and Kathy Costello (Wayne); and her grandchildren, Clint and Cody. She was an avid crafter, seamstress, a true Diamondbacks fan, and was very active in several Catholic parish fellowships. Her early career was as a teacher, but several family relocations led to a variety of clerical positions. Until finally settling in Phoenix, AZ, where she retired. Memorial services will be 11:00 a.m. on April 26th at Saint Raphael Roman Catholic Church in Glendale, AZ, with a brunch immediately following.

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Published by The Arizona Republic on Apr. 22, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for Sharon Wesala

4 Entries

July 17, 2019

I'm a friend from college in MT. We exchanged Christmas greetings for many years & I realized I had not heard from her in '18. So remembering her with sincere affection. I have old pictures. May I mail to you? Please reply. Sharon Bridgeford @Gmail.com

Kathy Costello

April 27, 2018

Hello, I'm Kathy Costello and I am Sharon's daughter. Depending on when or where you came to know her, you might know that she went to college and had a degree in education. She wasn't always employed as a teacher, but she loved to instruct people in many different things. Like the time she taught a neighbor boy to swim, in our backyard pool or her volunteering with reading groups with the kids at OLPH but mostly it was instructions to us, her beloved family.

I am honored to share a some of the most important lessons I learned from her.
1.Be color coordinated. At all times. And, if at all possible, do it in the theme of whatever holiday season we are currently in. You may not have known but she left behind over 350 pairs of costume earrings which were all organized in boxes by color or holiday and labeled. She didn't own a tube of lipstick when she died but gosh there were a lot of those earrings. Oh, and for every set of earrings, there was a matching outfit to go with.
2.Make lists. Of everything. Chores. Groceries. Errands. And most importantly to her Christmas and Birthday Gift Wish Lists. She loved to buy gifts and many times wanted to buy the boys everything on their lists, plus some. There were many years that you could barely see the Christmas tree while the gifts were waiting to be opened.
3.Love Disney. I can remember that we would always go to the theater to see the new Disney movies as kids. I think that her favorite was "The Love Bug" because her first new car was a Volkswagen Beetle or maybe it was "Mary Poppins" because Mary was practically perfect. We had many family visits to Disneyland, especially when we lived in California in 1980 that would be the first place she would always want to take people to when they came to see us that year.
4.Love your public library this lesson was especially true when I was in the fourth grade and she tried to fix our TV with a screwdriver because Dad was really sick in the hospital. Unfortunately, the screwdriver slipped and blew out the picture tube. That is when I learned that the library would allow you to check out 35 books at once! It wasn't close by, but she always took us into the town library to keep us reading.
5.Marriage is a life-long commitment. She was married to our dad for over 42 years, until he passed away. They dealt with cancer, cross country relocations, and sometimes separations while my dad had to work out of state on a temporary basis. I believe her faith and stubbornness kept them married.
6.To Pray. In good time and bad times. I can remember going to church with her and as young kids we would be allowed to sit on the kneeler backwards and use the pew as a desk for our coloring books. She also liked to sing in church and I think sometimes she tried to be louder than those around her so she could be sure that the Lord heard her! She loved being involved in the church whether as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, in prayer groups, bible studies or a member of the Ladies' Guild. She was proud of her religion and was faithfully committed to the Catholic teachings.
7.Don't be afraid to travel. Growing up we spent a lot of time on road trips and she like to plan and prepare for them. She would bring snacks, drinks, and activities for us to do while in the back seat of the station wagon headed back home to visit one family or the other. After she retired, she took a trip to Mexico on a train and Alaska on a cruise and even planned to go Prescott again this month.

She loved the Arizona Diamondbacks. If you ever tried to call her when a game was on, she wouldn't talk to you, while they were playing. If they end up at the World Series this year, it'll be because she helped and cheered them on from above.

She would be tickled to see you all your posts here though and thinks that we are all COOOL!

Jerry & Mary Matteson

April 26, 2018

We are thinking of Sharon's family on this day. Our deepest sympathy to all of you. We will miss seeing her at the Wesala homestead in Palo. Our hope is that she is in the loving arms of our Lord. May she rest in peace.
Sincerely,
Jerry and Mary Matteson

Lee Laughner

April 26, 2018

My heart is heavy and sad. Sharon was my American sister, and the one I could always rely on to care. Physically we moved apart but mentally we were the same. I will sorely miss her.

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