Sharon Joy Schmitz

Sharon Joy Schmitz--beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, and teacher--gracefully entered her eternal home on Monday, July 4th, 2022, at the age of 80 with her family by her side. She was a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico and is survived by her husband, Martin; her daughter, Jeniffer Joy Strong, and husband, Curtis "Skye" Strong; grandson, Daniel Martin Strong; grandson, Caleb Skye Strong, and his wife, Mikayla Strong; sister-in-law, Linda Kolberg, and nephew, Ryan Kolberg. Sharon also leaves behind many cherished family members on Martin and Skye's sides as well as close friends whom she considered family, Sandy Campanella and Becky Reed. She was preceded in death by her brother, Jim Kolberg.

Sharon was born in Chicago, Illinois to Violet and Harvey Kolberg. She earned her BA in Elementary Education from Greenville College in 1966 and took further courses and seminars in teaching at Southern Illinois University and University of New Mexico. She married Martin in 1965, and they moved to Albuquerque in 1968 where she taught at Barcelona Elementary School. They traveled together in Mexico for most of 1972, staying in Chihuahua and Mexico City for Martin's doctoral research. She then resumed her job at Barcelona Elementary School and gave birth to her daughter, Jeniffer, in 1974. Sharon was passionate about helping children learn to read and encouraging cultural awareness, and she began teaching at Sierra Vista Elementary School in 1976, serving faithfully until retirement in 2000 after the birth of her first grandson. In this new chapter of her life as grandmother, she thrived! Sharon lived for her family, and her memory will provide comfort, joy, and inspiration for the rest of their lives.

A celebration of Sharon's life is being planned for a later date, and the family is planting Rose of Sharon bushes in her memory. The family asks, in lieu of sending flowers, that you gift a book to a special child in your life.