Sharon Holcombe

Bennington NH - Sharon Louise Burns Holcombe, 78, died peacefully with both of her daughters at her side on April 2, 2025, following a lengthy illness.

Sharon was born on August 6, 1946 in Norwood, Massachusetts, to Helen (Loehr) and William Burns. She was the second child of ten children. Sharon attended King Philip Regional High School in Norfolk, Massachusetts, and then Regis College for one year. She transferred to the University of New Hampshire, where she graduated with a bachelors degree in economics. In 1973, she enrolled at M.I.T. to study business at the Sloan School of Management. Sharon described the intense, year-long master's program as the "toughest year of my life" and graduated with an M.B.A. in 1974. She then worked for Booz Allen Hamilton in Bethesda, Maryland, where she met her husband, Jud Holcombe. They married in December 1975 and had two daughters.

Sharon and Jud divorced amicably in 1984, and Sharon and her daughters moved to Milford, New Hampshire to be near family.

While in New Hampshire, Sharon was an antiques dealer and active community member, participating in the Daughters of the American Revolution, Lions Club, attending the Milford Congregational Church, and substituting and volunteering in the Milford public schools. She moved to Bennington, NH, in 2006.

The joys of Sharon's life were her daughters Leslie and Lindsey and her granddaughter Louisa, who was born in 2017. She absolutely loved being Nana to Louisa, participating in the weekly baby group at The Grapevine and taking her on adventures to Gregg Lake in Antrim or to the MIT campus in Cambridge.

Throughout her life, Sharon was an avid traveler and loved taking her family on adventures across the U.S. and abroad. She loved genealogy, enjoying trips to Scotland, England, and Canada to research family history. She also loved art and took up watercolor painting and folk art as hobbies.

Sharon is survived by her daughters Leslie Holcombe of Bennington, NH, Lindsey Holcombe of Peterborough, NH, her granddaughter Louisa Holcombe, her nine siblings: John, William, Stephen, Elizabeth, Charles, Robert, Barbara, Richard, and Glenn Burns, and many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A celebration of Sharon's life will be held on July 20, 2025. All are welcome, so please reach out to the family for further details. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Community Hospice House in Merrimack, NH, or The Grapevine in Antrim, NH.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Monadnock Ledger-Transcript on Apr. 10, 2025.

Memories and Condolences
for Sharon Holcombe

4 Entries

Donna Krapf

April 18, 2025

I am so sorry to hear of Sharon's death. My condolences to the entire Burns family and to Leslie and Lindsey and Louisa. It's been a long time since I lived next door to Helen and Bill, but the memories stay with me. My best to you all.

Donna

Lynda Hunt

April 18, 2025

Sharon was the first person I met when my family moved from Mass to NH in 1984. We became fast friends as did her daughter Leslie and my daughter Shauna. Sharon took our family under her wing and introduced us not only to her family, but also to the many friends she had acquired in a very short time as she has just moved to NH recently herself.
She was a people magnet and was bright, happy, full of life and very witty.
Sharon's family became our second family thanks to her outgoing personality and welcoming spirit.
We were welcomed to many dinners, Christmas Eve parties with many festivities including singing Christmas Carols by the piano at Helen's house (her Mom) which was packed with friends and relatives from near and far...
Sharon would always take us on adventures where we would travel up north to see the Flume, the Old Man on the Mountain and much more. We never knew where we were going as it was always a "surprise". Those days were so uplifting and fun for all of us.
She also took us to the Ram and the Thicket, a restaurant owned by Andy Templeton and his wife. It was a great place to eat, drink and be merry, which was another of Sharon's favorite things to do.
Soon after moving to Milford NH, right up the road from Sharon's home on Summer Street, my third daughter, Jennifer was born. Sharon welcomed her with open arms. Sharon and Jennifer became very close buddies...exactly 10 days after Jenny's birth, Sharon came by and scooped her up to take her to the Memorial Day Parade in Milford. She was placed in their family antique carriage and Sharon and Jenny proceeded to be a part of the parade that day...
As Jennifer grew up, it was a known fact that Sharon would be over to our house almost daily to fetch her.
Jennifer, as a toddler, would get her own coat and be ready to go on an adventure with her much loved Auntie Sharon. There are so many wonderful memories that I have of Sharon, I could probably make a book. But let me say this; my family could not be more loved by Sharon and her family. We were so lucky to have been a part of her life. We are so grateful for the times we spent with her and with all of her siblings and her parents. Thank you Sharon for being so loving and welcoming to all who crossed your path. May we all be as caring and full of life as Sharon was....it certainly would bring more love and peace to this world

Priscilla Tempelman

April 10, 2025

A beautiful soul with a heart of gold, a wonderful friend who graciously shared her soul. You are already greatly missed but your spirit lives on with us.

The Prive´s

April 10, 2025

Sharon was an incredible neighbor and friend and we were blessed to have her next door. Her intelligence, sharp wit and love for her family exuded from her every time we interacted! She will be missed!

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