Sharon F. Mackey

Sharon Frances Mackey

July 10, 1947 – September 21, 2020

Fuquay-Varina

Sharon Mackey was born on July 10, 1947 to Howeard and Marguerite Fournier in a hospital in Montague, Massachusetts. She grew up in the hardworking mill town of Orange, Mass. Sharon's mother died young leaving her father and her older sisters and brother to raise her.

She married her high school sweetheart, Bradford Mackey not long after the ink on their high school diplomas had dried in 1965. It was true love.

Children were next on the agenda. And in 1967 their slightly odd son, Curt was born. They realized that Curt needed a normal sibling and in 1970 their beloved daughter Lana arrived fashionably late to the party.

Sharon and Brad were popular and fun-loving, carousing with their many friends and huge family. Sharon was the bell of the ball; sharp-witted and stunningly beautiful, everyone knew Sharon was there. And if the band hadn't played The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" she would charm them into adding it to the night's play list. Then Sharon would get up Monday morning and go to work at the Slencil Pen factory.

As the mills started closing down throughout New England in the '70s, Sharon and Brad decided to move to South Florida. In 1977 they slid right in to Fort Lauderdale, becoming solidly middle class but with a funky flair. Brad eventually got a job that moved the family to Cary, North Carolina in 1981. In North Carolina they stayed.

Sharon became a Real Estate Agent, a retail clerk at Cacique and Hallmark, and even worked in a warehouse. She also became an avid gardener. When Curt and Lana grew up and moved out, Sharon and Brad traveled the world. There were so many exciting things to see and do. So many people to meet in so many places. So many flowers to grow.

Sharon and Brad joined the Tarheel Sports Car Club where she enjoyed many exciting racing weekends. Sharon helped run and organize the club and anxiously watched her husband race while learning to be a pretty good mechanic. Sharon also enjoyed playing cards and just hanging out with all her new neighbors when the pair moved to Fuquay-Varina. Her new garden flourished under her watchful eye and hard work.

Then she finally got her grandkids. Lana married Donald Frame and gave Sharon two little girls to love. Sara Frame and Holly Frame filled Sharon's life with sassiness and softball. Sharon even went back to her old babysitting duties for a while. When the granddaughters got older, softball became Sharon's favorite sport. As Sharon watched Holly and Sara grow, she watched her cherished husband fade. Brad Mackey passed in 2017.

And when it was Sharon's time to fade, Sara and Holly, Lana and Donnie, and Curt and Jenny, and her best friend, Marguerite took care of her in her Fuquay-Varina home for her final months and weeks and days and hours. Even her final seconds were spent with her children. She listened to "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and sang along.

Thank you to all of Sharon's friends, family, in particular two nieces, Michelle Fournier and Trisha Wray, and community of neighbors. Sharon is survived by her daughter Lana Frame and husband Donnie, her treasured grandchildren Sara and Holly Frame, and her son Curt Mackey and his wife Jennifer Mackey. And her best friend Marguerite Schley and beloved kitty, Smokey Joe, who Curt and Jenny have adopted. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to Transitions Life Care of Wake County, or the SPCA of Wake County. A celebration of Sharon's life will be scheduled soon.

Condolences may be shared at CremationSocietyNC.com.