Sharyn Mae Ofrias

1943 - 2025

Sharyn Mae Ofrias

May 3, 1943 - November 26, 2025

Sharyn M. Ofrias (neé LaFreniere), 82, passed away at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Va. on November 26, 2025 from complications related to breast cancer.

Born in Jamaica, N.Y. to Allan and Florence Hurd, Sharyn was later adopted by her stepfather, Edward LaFreniere. It was while working for her stepfather that she met Philip Ofrias, Jr., the love of her life. Fresh out of law school, Philip was on his way to an interview when he walked past the LaFreniere law office and decided to make an impromptu inquiry. With some not-so-subtle nudging from their stepfather and boss, Phil and Sharyn soon went on their first date and were married six months later.

Sharyn and Phil began their lifelong adventures by embarking on a cross-country trip in a Travelall, with a tiny camping trailer and their three rambunctious boys. They took up sailing and enjoyed many trips to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Moving from Shoreham out to Southold, N.Y., Phil opened his own practice, and Sharyn mentored the local hospital's candy stripers, enjoyed some lightly competitive tennis, the ladies' bowling league, and reining in her four children.

Just after Christmas in 1985, Sharyn and Phil left Long Island and moved with their younger children to Virginia where they maintain a working farm in Free Union. Here they indulged their daughter's love of horses, raised sheep due to a 4-H project gone awry, and started one of central Virginia's premier wholesale nurseries. It was during this time that Sharyn drew upon her impeccable taste and opened a children's boutique in the heart of Ivy, Va. However, as their children grew up and started families of their own, the pace slowed down, the farm was sold, and Phil and Sharyn moved to a lovely house where they had neighbors for the first time in over 20 years!

Once the last baby bird left the nest and moved back to New York, Sharyn and Phil began their biggest adventure yet! They sold their home, disbursed their belongings, and hit the road in their new RV. For the next 14 years these nomads would travel throughout the US and Canada making heavy use of the many military FamCamps and exploring the hidden gems on the bucket lists of many.

Sharyn and Phil returned to Virginia for Phil's recovery from a cardiac event, and in 2014, Sharyn's favorite dance partner passed away. Sharyn remained in Virginia, enjoying her family as her grandchildren started to marry and became parents themselves. Lovingly called Emily Gilmore (the later years) by her oldest granddaughter, Sharyn remained the matriarch of the Ofrias family, the center keeping them together, to her last breath.

Sharyn was predeceased by her beloved husband, Philip; daughter-in-law, Paulette (Gregory); father, Allan Hurd, mother, Florence LaFreniere; stepfather, Edward LaFreniere; siblings, Carolyn Tlapa, Allan Hurd, Gary LaFreniere; and stepsister, Lorie Betjemann.

Sharyn is survived by and leaves a hole in the lives of her children, Gregory Ofrias of Southold, N.Y., Philip Ofrias, III (Kimberly) of Charlottesville, Va., Shane Ofrias of Palmyra, Va., and Jordan Warfel (Robert) of Palmyra, Va. She also leaves behind her five grandchildren, Scott Ofrias (Amy) of Nahant, MA, Patrick Ofrias (Abby) of Chichester, NH, Katlin Dodgion (Alex) of Monroe, Va., Mary Ofrias of Windsor, Va., and Philip Ofrias IV of Staunton, Va. as well as her nine great-grandchildren; sister, Sandra Tilden of Oroville, Calif.; and sister-in-law, Bess Mosley of Portsmouth, N.H. Sharyn will also be missed by numerous cousins and close, life-long friends who we have always considered family.

Memorial visitation will be held Thursday, December 4, 2025 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hill and Wood Funeral Service in Charlottesville, Va. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Hill and Wood Funeral Service