Sharon Geist

Sharon Ludell Geist, 89, of Albuquerque, passed away Monday, Jan 31, 2024, while holding hands with each of her two surviving sons, Jerry Douglas Geist, Jr., of Albuquerque, and Bruce Kaemper Geist of Sterling Heights Michigan. Sharon had been suffering from the effects of dementia for nearly a decade. She is now in the loving embrace of her beloved family members that passed before her.

Sharon was born Sharon Ludell Kaemper in Las Vegas, New Mexico, to Elmer Louis Kaemper and Eloe M. Kaemper (Moore). Sharon graduated from Las Vegas NM High School, earned an associates degree from Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri in 1954, and subsequently a bachelors degree in music education in 1956 from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO. Sharon met her husband-to-be, Jerry Douglas Geist, in Las Vegas, NM in 1946, when she was 12 years old. They became junior high school sweethearts, voted “cutest couple” of their high school class, and eventually married in 1956 after both Jerry and Sharon finished college. All tolled, Sharon and Jerry had been devoted to one another for over 70 years. Their marriage brought three boys into the world, and was the basis of a loving partnership that produced career and volunteer accomplishments for the benefit of their community and beloved State of New Mexico over the span of many decades.

Sharon taught music in Norfolk, Virginia during her husband Jerry’s military service from 1956 to 1960, when Jerry served in the US Navy as an ensign on board the USS Douglas H. Fox. Sharon and Jerry’s first son Jerry Douglas was born in November of 1958. The couple decided to return to their roots after Jerry’s naval service, and establish their family in Albuquerque. Their second son Bruce Kaemper was born in April of 1962, and third son Robert William was born in January of 1967. Jerry began his career at Sandia National Labs as an electrical engineer. Thereafter he worked for many years for the Public Service Company of New Mexico, ultimately becoming the CEO, serving in that capacity until 1990. After his PNM employment, Jerry established an energy consulting business.

Throughout their marriage, Sharon not only devoted herself to fostering Jerry’s career and initiatives for the State and his company, but also dedicated herself to her three boys, and to the music community of New Mexico as an educator and supporter of the musical arts. For more than 12 years, Sharon volunteer-taught in the Albuquerque Public Schools as a music teacher, teaching school-wide music programs at her sons’ home schools. Sharon served as President of the Albuquerque Opera Guild, and later as President of the Santa Fe Opera Guild, raising money and support for the music she so dearly loved. In the 1990s, Sharon won a federal grant to develop Opera education programs for young people. As part of that effort, she developed puppet shows that were abbreviated versions of famous operas. The puppet shows toured the state, and included real-life opera singers who wowed kids who may otherwise not have been exposed to opera previously. For decades, Sharon taught children’s church choir and sang in the adult Chancel choir at First United Methodist Church in downtown Albuquerque. She also performed in various other musical groups, such as Bell Canto and the Albuquerque Symphony Choir. A lover of the visual arts too, Sharon served on the board of directors at the Taos Museum at Fechin House. Outside of the arts, she was President of the Albuquerque Garden Club.

Jerry, Sharon’s soul-mate and husband of 63 years, passed away in March of 2019; her youngest son Robert William Geist passed away five weeks priorin February of 2019. Sharon was preceded in death by her brother Elmer Louis (“Jack”) Kaemper Jr., and is survived by her two oldest sons, Jerry D. Geist, Jr. (Donna) of Albuquerque, and Bruce Kaemper Geist (Lynn) of Sterling Heights, Michigan, and Sharon’s three grandchildren, Dominic Orozco (Brandie) of Phoenix, AZ, Angelo Orozco of Albuquerque and Nichole Eloe Geist of East Orange, NJ.

Friends and family remember Sharon as high-energy, humorous, charismatic and loving. She easily engaged and endeared herself to all those she met. She and her husband Jerry were generally a central feature, if not the life of a party. Sharon loved people and loved life. Sharon, like her husband, was excited always by the prospect of making a positive difference in her community, for her friends, and for her family. She will be sorely missed.

Memorial services for Sharon Geist will be held Saturday, February 10, 2024, at 1:00 PM at First United Methodist Church, 315 Coal Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Internet Streaming of the event will be available at the link provided below.

Sharon’s remains will be interred at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, in Santa Fe, NM.

The family wishes to specially thank the staff from the Retreat in Rio Rancho, who were devoted, loving, and conscientious care givers during the last months of Sharon’s extended illness. The family is also indebted to Doug, Donna and Angelo Geist, who opened their home and provided devoted, successful care for Sharon in their home from March of 2020 through May 2023, during significant health challenges for Sharon and during the worst challenges of the Covid pandemic.