Janice Sharar

1951 - 2021

Janice Sharar
The family and friends of Janice E. Sharar are mourning her death on July 13, 2021.
Jan was born Janice E. Chambers on March 2, 1951, in Seattle to Charles M. Chambers and Elizabeth B. ("Bette") Chambers.
The year 1975 was auspicious, as Jan graduated from The Evergreen State College and met Earl Kurtis "Kurt" Sharar, a former newspaper reporter turned lobbyist. They would wed on July 4, 1976, at Jan's parents' home in Lacey. Jan and Kurt bought their first house together in N.E. Thurston County, and eventually also owned a beloved beach cabin on the Long Beach Peninsula. Shared passions included attending the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Seattle Seahawks' games.
Jan worked for the Washington State Senate, concluding with the Senate Children & Family Services Committee, before she and Kurt moved to the Ellensburg area upon Kurt's retirement as a lobbyist for the Washington State Association of Counties in 1997. Jan worked as a land use planner for Kittitas County until her own retirement in January 2006. Yet Jan's retirement would not end her involvement with land use issues, which she continued to be active and vocal on from a conservationist perspective.
After Jan retired, she and Kurt enjoyed international adventures traveling to Australia, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Holland Hungary, New Zealand, and Slovakia. They were inseparable. Yet on November 30, 2015, Jan lost her life partner when Kurt passed away. Jan established a memorial journalism scholarship in Kurt's name at the University of Oregon.
Jan was an exceptional person - generous, loving, smart, and unreservedly opinionated. Jan and Kurt had a large circle of friends, and those who survive her are very grateful to neighbors who stepped up to assist her estate.
Jan was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Martha, and is survived by her sister, Patrice; nephews and nieces; Kurt's stepdaughter, Kelly; and Hank the dog - the last of a long line of cherished pets. Donations in Jan's memory can be made to the Washington chapter of The Trust for Public Land, 901 5th Avenue, Suite 1520, Seattle, WA 98164.