SHARON ROSE DUNTON

SHARON ROSE DUNTON (SPANGLE), went home to be with her beloved Lord on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021. "Though her family will miss her tremendously, we are rejoicing with and for her; Alzheimers took her from us years ago in a sense, but it was the disease that lost this battle. She has been made whole." A lifelong resident of Fort Wayne, Sharon was born May 1, 1937 to the late Philip H. and Juanita B. Spangle, the oldest of four children. She graduated from North Side High School where she and her husband, Dr. Clay Dunton, DDS, met. She used to delight her kids and grandkids with the story of their meeting. Sharon was trying to hit the neighbor boy in the head with a ripe pear that had fallen off the back yard tree. She hit Clay instead and the rest was history. While Clay went through dental school, Sharon brought three children into the world and worked. When her youngest was five, Sharon returned to school and earned a degree in mental health counseling from IUPU Fort Wayne and an M.S. in the same from St. Francis University Fort Wayne. She was a pioneer in the field of eating disorders, traveling far and wide to both teach and add to her knowledge in the growing field. The bulk of her years of service to clients was at Park Center and St. Joseph Hospitals in Bluffton and Fort Wayne. Sharon loved her family, travel, her time spent each year in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., reading, talking with new friends, her beloved Persian cats, and her friends and family at Holy Cross Lutheran Church and Pathway Community Church. She is survived by her children, Russ (Laura) Dunton of Albion, Rick Dunton of Fort Wayne, and Suzy (Jonathan) Weibel of State College, Pa.; 11 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren; her brother, Ray (Pat) Spangle of Fort Wayne; and her sister, Cheryl (Paul) Johnson of Bloomington. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Clayton E. Dunton; and her brother, Kenneth A. Spangle. Funeral service is 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, at D.O. McComb and Sons Pine Valley Park Funeral Home, 1320 East Dupont Road, with calling from 10 a.m. to noon, prior to service. Burial will be in Huntertown Cemetery, Huntertown. Sharon requests that any donations be given to Matthew 25 Health and Care. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy for the Dunton family may be shared at www.mccombandsons.com