SHARILIN STEVENSON SATHRE
October 30, 2008
Sharilin Sathre passed away early Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008, after a hard-fought battle with cancer. As were her wishes, she was at home in the mountains of Idaho surrounded by family and friends.
She was born on April 27, 1943, in Emmett, Idaho, to Marge and Cleve Stevenson and was the youngest of three girls. The next year the family moved to Lewiston and settled on a small farm in the Orchards. She loved the outdoors and enjoyed putting up hay with her father, gardening with her mother and getting into trouble for sliding down the barn roof with her sisters. She especially loved camping and fishing in the nearby mountains.
After graduating from Lewiston High School in 1961 she moved to Boise where she met and married Robert Sathre. They had two daughters, Andrea and Mardi. They divorced in the spring of 1975 but remained friends to the end. That same spring Shari bought a home where, before any furniture was moved in, she and her girls planted a garden.
In Boise, she worked for the state of Idaho in Child Protection and Senior Services. She enjoyed the work so much that she decided to study social work at Boise State University. There she received her bachelor’s degree and graduated on the dean’s list. Her hard work and determination showed us that anything is possible if you are willing to work hard for it.
She later moved to Kennewick where she worked with families in the Head Start program. She eventually joined her daughter Andrea in Japan and started a 12-year career teaching English. While in Japan she traveled throughout southeast Asia, spending Christmases on the beaches of Thailand and learning to scuba dive in the Philippines. She traveled with family and friends but was not afraid to take off on her own. She visited China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, England, Italy, France, Spain and Morocco.
She moved back to the USA in 1999 to be closer to her family. She was especially close with her sisters, Darlene and Dixie, and many laughter-filled hours were spent playing cards. In the U.S. she divided her time between Mesa, Ariz. and her mother, and the Lochsa Lodge and her daughters’ families. At the lodge, she enjoyed working in the restaurant and hiking the nearby trails. She especially enjoyed her weekly trips to the farmers market in Missoula, Mont. to buy fresh flowers for the lodge.
She is survived by her daughters, Andrea Denton and husband Don Denton of Powell, and Mardi Hart and husband Andrew Hart of Grangeville; mother Marge Stevenson of Mesa; sisters and brothers-in-law Darlene Branch and Glen Branch and Dixie Steiger and Frank Steiger of Lewiston; grandsons Zachary and Dylan Hart of Grangeville; as well as many nieces and nephews whom she adored. Her father, Cleve Stevenson, preceded her in death.
Memorial services will be held next spring. Shari loved life, family, friends and a cold glass of chardonnay. She taught us how to be strong and how to find humor in the most unlikely places. Her beautiful smile will be greatly missed.