Sharon Lee Williams Lynch

Nov. 21, 1926 - Feb. 15, 2010 Sharon W. Lynch, longtime resident of Rancho Mirage, Calif. passed away peacefully at Eisenhower Medical Center after experiencing a stroke on the morning of February 14, 2010. She was 83. Born Sharon Lee Williams in Belle Fourche, S.D., she was the eldest of two children by Charles and Helen Williams, her younger brother was Jay Mortimer Williams. At 13, Sharon moved with her family to California and later attended the University of Southern California where she met Robert Lawrence Lynch, to whom she was married for 50 years. They lived in Palos Verdes, Downey, Beverly Hills, La Habra, Newport Beach and finally Rancho Mirage before he passed away from cancer in 1997. A longtime resident of Southern California, Sharon was an active member of Balboa Bay Club, Newport Harbor Yacht Club and Thunderbird Country Club. Sharon was an incredibly intelligent, loving, elegant, compassionate, lively and beautiful woman. In her early days, she modeled for the Ford Agency and was in the same Blue Book as Marilyn Monroe. She was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority at USC and continued to be an active part of their alumnae. She believed in service to her community and was seated on many boards at various times, including the Palm Springs Art Museum, The Muses of the Museum of Science and Industry and the California Science Center Foundation, and was a founding member of the Western Art Council, for which she was recognized with the George Montgomery Award in 2008. Sharon also sat on the committees which organized "The Bob Hope Classic Ball" and "The Eisenhower Medical Center 20th Anniversary Five Star Gala." Always up for a new challenge, Sharon would dive into projects with fervor. A business woman since 1968, she ran the family business, Perpetual Storage, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, following her husband's death. Sharon's greatest attribute, above all else, is that her family and friends came first. Sharon is survived by her sons, Michael and Patrick Lynch; her daughter-in-law, Susan Lynch; her three grandchildren, Bridget Somerville, Aubrey Lynch and Caitlin Lynch-Terry; her three great-grandchildren, Cody, Cooper and Sarah Somerville; her sisters-in-law, Jane Herman-McMahan, Bonnie Lynch, Ann Lynch and Barbara Lynch; and a multitude of nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Andrea. A Memorial Service will be held for her in Palm Desert in March. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials be made to Guide Dogs of the Desert, Children's Neurobiological Solutions or a charity of your choice.