Sharon died surrounded by love on January 4, 2024 in Etobicoke, ON. She was 80 years old.

Born in Vermilion Alberta, Sharon began her life as a prairie girl. Daughter to hardworking entrepreneurial parents, Sharon was the second oldest of the five Isley siblings. She helped her mother with home and child-care duties at their tidy three-room home, and every morning before school she also crossed the street to her grandparent’s house where she would style her grandmother’s hair. Her mother’s maiden name was Love. And this was the theme of Sharon’s life.

A fourth-generation redhead part of a large family in a small community, Sharon never slowed down. Deeply involved in church activities, she taught Sunday school and attended bible study, youth group, and corps cadets. An accomplished musician, she was a talented vocalist and pianist and played the euphonium in the Salvation Army band. Early in her teens she felt called to full-time ministry in The Salvation Army, later leaving for the big city of Toronto to attend The Salvation Army’s Training College. Curious about the world, Sharon’s mother told her she’d never be happy unless she married a man who loved to travel.

As luck would have it, at lunch on her first day at college, Sharon sat at a table beside a handsome young man from Newfoundland with an easy smile. A year ahead in the Servants of Christ session, Cadet Woodrow Hale noticed her smile too and captured her attention and heart. In her second year of study, Woody was sent to Perth ON for his first appointment. But they wrote each other every day, at significant expense given postage stamps were 5 cents each. A member of the Heroes of the Faith session, Sharon was commissioned as a Salvation Army officer in 1964, marrying Woodrow later that summer. Two peas in their shared pod, they would reread those letters to each other on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Beginning their life and careers in earnest, Sharon stepped into leadership in a way not common for women in Christian churches at the time (and in many still today). Ordained in her own right, she and Woody were equal partners in ministry. While leaders of congregations, Woody would preach the sermon in the morning service and Sharon would preach in the evening service - the next week they would alternate. A woman of prayer, she became a spiritual mother and leadership role model to many.

Sharon always had her own portfolio of responsibilities which allowed her to express her gifts and talents and also expand her expertise and skillsets. With Woody, she seeded new church communities and led the redevelopment of a beloved summer camp into a financially viable year-round conference facility. In another appointment, she achieved a Microsoft systems designation to figure out how to set up a new computer network in the division she ran. Not to mention she also served as Woody’s trusted assistant during his many magic shows and performances through which they shared the love of Jesus. He often remarked that Sharon always made him look much better than he was.

They crisscrossed Canada from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in British Columbia to St. John’s Newfoundland, welcoming their firstborn son Barry in Weyburn SK, followed by Garry in Swiftcurrent SK, and then Sharilyn in Mississauga ON. They later raised their hands to serve outside Canada, landing on the beautiful beaches of Barbados in the Caribbean Territory and then Bermuda. Long days and weekends, her work alongside Woody was her vocation. She performed funerals and comforted the grieving, led pre-marital counselling sessions and officiated weddings, inspired staff teams and created youth programs, mobilized to help families who lost everything when their homes were destroyed by fire, and put her arms around the unlovable.

In Barbados, she met with Prime Ministers and the wealthy but was ‘mom’ to many of the homeless on Reed Street where The Salvation Army headquarters and food centre is located. Such as Lionel. He wore the same unwashed clothes each day, and walked the dry, dusty streets barefoot all day resulting in deep callouses on the bottom of his feet. Whenever he saw Sharon, his eyes lit up and he yelled, “hello mistress!” One day, Sharon, the Divisional leader for Barbados and St. Lucia, noticed his feet were cracked, blistered and bleeding. She washed and tended to them, bringing tears to Lionel’s eyes.

Her love for others was only a sliver of the love she had for home and family. On top of her leadership responsibilities, she cooked 3 meals a day, did laundry for five, baked birthday cakes and Christmas treats, sewed matching family outfits, draperies and Halloween costumes, hosted visiting relatives and entertained large groups of guests with aplomb. She mothered with love but ran a tight ship. She was a hater of messes, crooked pictures on the wall, and unkempt hair. Once her children were all of reasonable age, they were fined 25 cents for any of their property found on the floor or not where it ought to have been. The money went towards family vacations. A mother even on the platform, she could get her kids sitting in church to zip it or sit still with one penetrating glance. She was dignified and had exacting standards, believing that anything worth doing ought to be done well. She often said, “if it’s not good enough for me, it will never be good enough for the Lord!”

It only got better for Sharon when she welcomed and watched three grandchildren grow – first Jennifer, then twins Sarah and Trevor. While often separated by distance, Sharon and Woody both took great care to have special time with them, playing games, camping, exploring markets, and organizing garage sales.

Sharon’s mother had been right - Sharon happily travelled the world with Woody, visiting more than 30 countries. But few things brought them more joy than their time in Israel. Their first visit in 1979 seeded a deep love for the land, its spiritual significance, and its people. Taking the opportunity to lead, and subsequently becoming experts in, religious pilgrimages to the Land of the Book, Sharon and Woody endeared themselves by offering spiritually transformative experiences to more than 400 people over the years. Woody loved to hear Sharon sing “The Holy City”, as they stood on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. Sharon even started taking Hebrew language lessons. Some of us suspected Woody was afraid she’d fall in love with an Israeli man so she could move and retire there, but her heart only belonged to him.

In retirement, Sharon did not slow down. They bought and moved into their first permanent home where Sharon was able to plant and tend to beautiful gardens, and expand her surprisingly large shoe collection. Sharon and Woody continued to travel, lead Salvation Army leadership retreats across the Caribbean, and share time with family. Sharon finally had time to enjoy and develop her artistic talents, producing many lovely oil and watercolour paintings and excitedly knit a beautiful baby blanket to welcome her fourth grandchild, Adelaide.

In 2017, Sharon was devastated by an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Her unwavering faith in God remained her anchor. Sharon moved into long-term care in February 2020, immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic. While Sharon weathered the worst of it, it was a difficult time for her family, unable to visit and support her. Woody had been living with his daughter Sharilyn and granddaughter Adelaide, but by late 2021 he was finally able to move into the same facility with Sharon. Woody visited her at least once a day to hold her hand, sing songs, and pray together as they had done every night before bed. Her renowned wit and sense of humour never left her, even as Alzheimer’s advanced. When Woody would ask her if she still loved him, she would often reply, “nope.” With Woody’s death 6 months before her own, she journeyed the final stretch of her path with family but without her soulmate.

Sharon died due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease hastened by influenza. She had a peaceful passing, giving both her children Garry (Lorelei) and Sharilyn, and all her grandchildren Jennifer (Matthew), Trevor, and Sarah (Phaolan), and Adelaide, time to share with her. Sadly, Sharon was predeceased by her son, Barry, a painful loss she carried with her for the remainder of her life. She was cared for tenderly by the dedicated workers at the Village of Humber Heights, many of whom supported her with kindness over the last four years.

For more about Woodrow Hale: https://turnerporter.permavita.com/site/MajorWoodrowGordonHale.html

***** A service of remembrance for Sharon will be held on Monday, June 24th, 2024 at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery Chapel in Toronto ON, 375 Mt. Pleasant Road.
- Visitation at 9am EST, with service at 10am.
- Livestream link: https://vimeo.com/event/4394293/3175dce738

A joint interment for Sharon & Woodrow Hale will follow at 11.30am, with no livestream option.
You're invited to join the family for lunch at noon. Please rsvp to sdhale@rogers.com.