Sharon Sue Staples Sundwall, 71, of Rexburg, died at home with her family on July 14, 2015 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.

Sharon was born in Lawrence, KS on November 9, 1943 to George Wilson Staples and Hilda Helen Gerstenberger. She was raised in Kansas and Oregon, where she graduated from Centennial High School and then the Emmanuel Hospital School of Nursing in 1964. She worked as a Registered Nurse for over 40 years in Oregon and California before retiring and moving to Rexburg to be near her family in 2006.

Sharon married John Thomas Sundwall on April 19, 1965; they had two children, Jennifer and Jeffrey. They divorced in 1980.

She enjoyed reading, photography, and flying as a private pilot in her 1946 Piper Clipper. Sharon loved living near the ocean where she could walk her beloved Schnauzers.

She joined the LDS Church in 1989 and was an active member for the rest of her life. She hated speaking in front of groups but she was a most dedicated Visiting Teacher and spent many hours handwriting messages to those she could not visit in person.

Sharon is survived by her younger brother Michael (Mary) Staples of San Antonio, TX; her children Jennifer (Randall) Kempton of Rexburg, and Jeffrey Sundwall of Driggs; and eight grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and one granddaughter.

Interment will be at the Burton Cemetery following a private family memorial service.