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Get Real: Let me tell you about my sister-in-law, Sharon

Liz DadsonBy: Liz Dadson  February 19, 2023
Get Real: Let me tell you about my sister-in-law, Sharon
If you know me, you know that I have very little time for ostentatious individuals – mainly politicians, those with money and influence, and people who keep their eyes on the Joneses and endeavour to keep up with them in an entirely materialistic fashion.

While I respect people in authority, such as police officers, judges, public officials, etc., I always find it safe to presume that they put their pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. Therefore, while they are perhaps set up on a higher level, they are human beings, and suffer the same faults, tragedies and perfidies as the entire race.

What this lengthy preface is getting to, is my appreciation for people who are genuine, caring, honest, truthful and fair. Which is a rough ride in the field of journalism because these individuals are few and far between.

So, I’d like to tell you about one of my favourites, my sister-in-law, Sharon Wilkins.

I’ve known Sharon for years because we grew up in the same community of Ashfield Township. She is four years older than I am, the same age as my brother, Jack, whom she married June 30, 1984. In fact, she is exactly four days younger than Jack, born April 21, 1960, while he was born April 17, 1960.

Jack and Sharon live on the 12th Concession of Ashfield Township (now called Zion Road), just outside the Village of Lucknow. They have farmed together and worked together for almost 40 years, and have three children and six grandchildren.

As wild and zany as my brother is, Sharon is the voice of reason in the wilderness. She has always championed those less fortunate and if there’s a way to help, she will work for the cause. Besides caring for her family, she has supported her church, worked in her garden, and done the chores.

Jack and Sharon remind me of my parents, working side-by-side on the farm, doing what was necessary to keep things going, raising their family and welcoming in-laws and grandchildren. Hosting Wilkins Christmas gatherings, Easter dinners, and Thanksgiving meals.

While Jack would be jawing with someone about the issues of the day, Sharon would be working quietly to put the meal on the table, graciously thanking everyone for bringing something to share at that table.

She has always been a gentle encourager, building people up and making them feel good about themselves. Reluctant to take the spotlight, she would let Jack and the rest of us do most of the talking. But if an issue needed to be raised, she would raise it; and when she spoke, regardless of how quietly, you listened.

Sharon would provide sage advice whenever you were upset or searching for an answer. And it wasn’t always when we were sitting at the table having a cup of coffee. Sometimes, it was while we were out in her vegetable garden, or enjoying her beautiful flowers, or filling the back of my vehicle with eggs, squash, corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Generous and kind, she had a way of offering guidance and support without seeming to, without judgement, with the focus on being helpful.

All that ended Monday afternoon, Feb. 13, when she died. She had been suffering from a chronic lung infection for awhile, and finally, last fall, the doctors said they could do nothing more for her and gave her six months to live.

She gradually got sicker and sicker, needed a wheelchair to get around, needed an oxygen line to breathe, needed help to have a shower. But she never complained, even when she could no longer do all the things she enjoyed doing. She just welcomed people to come on in and help themselves to a cup of coffee and visit, and she loved spending time with her grandchildren.

Eventually, the time came for her to move to a residential hospice, and fortunately, there was a bed open at Huron Shores Hospice in Tiverton, and that’s where Sharon and Jack stayed for four days – the final four days of her life.

Now, I’ve been writing news stories about Huron Shores Hospice since before it opened in Tiverton Park Manor, May 1, 2018, but I will tell you, until you experience having a loved one go through her final days there, you don’t know anything.

The volunteers and the staff provide exemplary care. They are there to help not only the patient but also the family, bringing them meals, helping them with whatever concerns come up, guiding them through the stages toward death. The care and compassion are absolutely incredible.

And it’s all free for the patient and the family. There are no fees for the meals, no cost for the use of the bed, no charges at all. My brother and his family couldn’t believe it – surely, we must have to pay for something.

That’s what all those donations are for, the fund-raising, the hikes, the auction of handbags, etc. So that people like my dear sister-in-law, Sharon, could go through the end of her life in a home-like setting surrounded by the love of her family and friends.

It was a dignified and perfect end for a woman whose main goal in life was to work hard and help others.

Goodbye for now, Sharon, see you later.

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