Honorable G. Kendall Sharp

Senior U.S. District Court Judge George Kendall Sharp (Dad, Bampa, Ken or Judge to those who adored him), 87, died surrounded by loved ones on March 24, 2022. Judge Sharp was an accomplished man whose impressive academic and professional resume conveys only the most serious and outwardly visible details of a mischievously funny, exhaustingly energetic, brilliant, athletic, adventurous and absolutely irreplaceable man.

Ken Sharp was raised in Chicago, the only son of Florrie and Ed Sharp. There he became involved in the Boy Scouts, eventually rising to the rank of Eagle Scout. Sharp was educated at South Shore High School, Phillips Academy-Andover, Yale University (where he played football and sang with the Whiffenpoofs), and the University of Virginia Law School. Ken joined the Navy between college and law school, serving as a "Plank Owner" and Navigator on the Pacific supercarrier USS Ranger. After concluding his active-duty service, Sharp continued to serve his country in the Reserves, retiring as a Naval Captain.

After law school, Sharp moved to Vero Beach where he started a family as well as a private law practice. In 1978, Sharp became a Circuit Court Judge for Florida's 19th Judicial Circuit. In 1983, G. Kendall Sharp was nominated by Ronald Reagan to become a U.S. District Court Judge. After Senate Confirmation, Ken honorably served as a Federal Judge in the Orlando Division of the Middle District of Florida for 38 years. Judge Sharp remained on the Bench actively signing orders until a few weeks before his death.

For nearly forty years, Ken Sharp was a member of both the University Club in downtown Orlando and the Yowell Sunday School Class at the First Presbyterian Church.

Ken loved his family fiercely and is survived in life by his daughters Kendall Sharp (58) and Julia Carter (55), his son-in-law David Carter (57) and daughter-in-law Anne-Marie van der Velde (53), and his grandchildren Austin Carter (29), Lyndal Carter (27), Greta Carter (24), Carter Sharp (17) and Quinn Sharp Viele (13). His greatest love, Carolyn Coats, came into his life only five years ago and filled the final chapter of his life with rich devotion and a shared sense of adventure.

The great legacy Ken Sharp left with his children and grandchildren is their conviction that value in life is measured in experiences shared not material things accrued. Thanks to him, they all love snorkeling in Bahamas, snow skiing the great mountains of the western US, and traveling to off-the-beaten path destinations. Both Ken's daughter Kendall and grandson Austin followed his footsteps as athletes at Yale, playing in the legendary Yale Bowl where Ken had played decades before.

Ken was a man of many talents – a world traveler, an avid spearfisherman, pilot, athlete, scholar, philanthropist, judge, raconteur, and loving father and friend. He was truly one of a kind and will forever be missed.

A celebration of life service will be held in his honor at 10am on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, 106 East Church Street. Reception immediately to follow at the University Club, 150 East Central Blvd., Orlando, Florida. The service will be live streamed for anyone unable to attend in person. If you are interested in joining remotely on Saturday at 10am, just type in: www.fpco.org/funeral.