Sharon Jackiw

MILFORD - Family and friends of Sharon (Edwards) Jackiw, 70, are deeply saddened by her death Nov. 13, 2009. Sharon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in German from the University of Michigan and a doctorate from Cornell. Studying abroad in Munich, Germany, on a Fulbright Scholarship from 1961 to 1962, she smuggled passports over the border to help Berliners escape to the West. She served on the faculty of Wheaton College, Chatham College and the University of Maine, where she was associate director of Sponsored Programs and associate professor of German and Linguistics. Sharon was as passionate about her philanthropic work as she was about her philological scholarship. She chaired the capital campaign and served on the board of Warren Center for Communication and Learning, which named its library in her honor, and she was a regular volunteer reader for Maine Airs. A fervent supporter of women's issues, she served on the boards of Mabel Wadsworth Women's Health Center and Spruce Run, where she chaired the finance committee. During her tenure at the University of Maine, she was central to the University Women in the Curriculum Program and chaired the Council on the Status of Women. Later in her life, Sharon became an avid birdwatcher and was active in Maine Audubon, participating joyfully in annual bird censuses with her group, the Cardinal Sins, and serving on the Community Advisory Board to Fields Pond. Voracious reader, puzzle junkie, opera lover, bridge enthusiast and pitch-perfect raconteur, Sharon was the intellectual life of the party, a bon vivant known for her spirited conversation and zest for culture. She will be missed by all whose lives she graced. She is survived by her father and mother, Kenneth and Henrietta Edwards of Saline, Mich.; daughter, Simone Ahlborn and her husband, David, of Providence, R.I.; son, Nicholas Jackiw and his wife, Nathalie, of Vancouver, British Columbia; brother, Paul Edwards and his wife, Gayle, of Coker Creek, Tenn.; sister, Dee Vickers and her husband, Brooks, of Royal Oak, Mich.; and her loving grandchildren, Lucy, Owen and Nadege, of whom she was so proud. She is also survived by her dearest friend, Peggy Danielson of Blue Hill, who provided boundless love, comfort and support to Sharon and her family at the end of her life. A memorial celebration of her life will be announced at a later date.