Sharon Louise Williams

Mineral Point - Sharon Louise (Cutler) Ortiz Phillips Williams, age 88, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 17, 2025, surrounded by the love of her family. She was born October 26, 1937, to Lavern Stanley Cutler and Alice (Richardson) Cutler, and grew up in Iowa County. Sharon was raised on the Cutler family farm, land which later became part of Governor Dodge State Park. Long before it was a park, it was simply home. It was the place where her family worked the land, where her roots ran deep, and where she learned the quiet values that shaped her entire life.

Sharon married Robert Edward Ortiz on July 6, 1955. Together they raised five children and built a life full of hard work, devotion, and partnership. Their marriage was cut tragically short when Robert passed away in 1979. Even into her final days, she spoke about Robert with a soft smile, remembering him as handsome, strong, and fiercely protective. Their story remained one of those tender "what-could-have-been" chapters. A great love interrupted too soon, but never forgotten.

Years later, Sharon remarried George William Phillips on June 13, 1981. George wasn't known for being warm and cuddly. He liked his TV loud enough to rival a low-flying airplane, especially when a western was on. Still, he and Sharon created a home full of noise, grandchildren, John Wayne, and memories. His booming presence and her gentle patience somehow balanced each other. George passed away in 2006.

Sharon later married Don Williams on April 21, 2019. They shared several years of companionship, spending quiet days bird-watching, feeding the squirrels, enjoying long conversations together in her home in Mineral Point, and even taking the occasional flight in his small plane. Those flights brought Sharon a sense of adventure in her later years.

Sharon's home in Montfort was the backdrop of the grandkids' childhood. It smelled like home-cooked meals, hot coffee, and just a little secondhand smoke drifting from George's chair. There were always lemon drops on the counter, and she kept orange juice and ginger ale on hand so her grandchildren could pretend they were mixing fancy cocktails at a five-star resort. Her patience was legendary. With a house full of loud, wild grandkids, she never scolded, never shooed anyone away, and never once looked overwhelmed. She simply opened her arms and her home and let everyone be exactly who they were.

One of Sharon's greatest acts of love was raising her grandson, Robert "Little Bobby." From the day he was born, Sharon stepped in and cared for him with unwavering devotion. She loved him fiercely, protected him, and built her life around making sure his needs were always met. Sharon never had an empty nest, and truthfully, she never wanted one. She continued caring for Little Bobby up until four months ago, when her own declining health finally made it impossible for her to keep doing what her heart most wanted to do.

Sharon also loved animals with a tenderness that was impossible to miss. Nearly every dog she owned was a stray that somehow "found" her. Two different dogs, at two different times, were both named Lady. Later came her beloved Sadie, and her big, fluffy orange-and-white cat Scruff, who ruled the house as if he paid the mortgage, though Sharon would never have said so out loud.

Although she was soft-spoken and gentle, she was not fragile. In her younger years, she hunted and fished up north with "the boys" and could gut a deer without flinching. Her late husband Robert's friends nicknamed her "George," long before she ever married an actual George, because she could hold her own with anyone. Her petite kindness was never mistaken for weakness by those who truly knew her. Sharon was an avid sports fan who followed everything from local girls' high school basketball to her dear Green Bay Packers.

She is survived by her children: Lavern William (Jen Magby) Ortiz, Elizabeth Vanita (Jeffrey) Bennett, Brenda Lee (Keith) Keuter, and Barbara Lynn (Duane) Butteris; 14 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; her brother, Stanley LeRoy (Lynda Ann Dickey) Cutler; her sister-in-law, Marilyn Lea (Riley) Cutler; her husband, Don Williams; and her stepchildren: Donnie, Scott (Shelly), Michelle (Demetrius), Karl, Marck (Kristan), and Elaine (David).

She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband Robert Ortiz; her second husband George Phillips; her daughter Bobbie J. (Ortiz) Woodruff; her brother Gerry Ray Cutler; her sister Janet Alice Cutler; and other loved ones who welcomed her home again.

For those who knew Sharon well, it brings comfort to imagine her finally resting, finally free of pain, and showing up to heaven exactly the way she showed up everywhere else in life: with her famous chocolate sheet cake in hand. She would never feel right arriving empty-handed, even at the gates of paradise. Humble as ever, she would probably say it was "just something simple," even though everyone knows it was the dessert that disappeared first at every gathering, and the one no one will ever be able to recreate. If there is a potluck in heaven, Sharon has already taken over the dessert table, and they don't even know how lucky they are yet.

Sharon lived a life defined by love, service, wit, and quiet bravery. She cared deeply, gave endlessly, and never stopped opening her home and her heart to the people and animals who needed her. Her legacy is patience, strength, humor, and a love big enough to hold an entire family.

A Private Family Sunrise Service will be held at Graceland Cemetery. Pastor Lorri McGranahan will officiate.