Sharon Suzanne Altholz, 70, died on January 22, 2022, at home and with family in Lakewood, Colorado. Sharon is survived by her son Allen, grandson Quentin, daughter Heather, sister Mary, and brother John. Her brother Charles David Crumb (Chuck) passed away in 2016.
Sharon was born February 9, 1951, in Flint, Michigan to Doris Amie Crumb (nee Fenner) and John Garfield Crumb, the youngest of four children. She was especially close with her big sister Mary throughout her life. Sharon, who went by her middle name Suzanne for most of her adult life, primarily lived in the midwest, graduating from Indiana University and raising her two children in the Chicago suburbs while working as a stellar cashier (which almost made her an extra in the movie Uncle Buck, had the scene not been cut). After her children were grown, Sharon returned to school and earned a Masters in Social work from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She practiced social work in Michigan, Indiana, and then Louisiana. Sharon began suffering from dementia in her fifties, and retired from social work when her illness required it.
Sharon was an excellent gardener, creative cook, and talented quilter. The blankets, baby quilts, and other works of art she made demonstrate exquisite design and technique. After dementia prevented her from working, she remained as active as possible, including volunteering for hundreds of hours at a local botanical garden and weeding in cemeteries. She was an enthusiastic participant in Busy Bodies, an exercise program for seniors run by BREC (Parks & Recreation in East Baton Rouge). Her family is grateful that the program adapted with Sharon’s advancing disability. After many years living in Baton Rouge near her son, at the end of 2021 Sharon moved to Colorado via a road trip made possible by Neisha, her best certified nurse assistant in Baton Rouge who treated Sharon as she would her own mother. Despite her advanced dementia, Sharon fondly remembered Colorado from a previous visit, especially a fantastic hike in Rocky Mountain National Park, which increased her enthusiasm for the move. In Colorado, Sharon received excellent care first from Denver Health and then from Denver Hospice, who helped ensure Sharon’s comfort in her last days.
