Sharon Darlene Clausen

Sharon Darlene Clausen née Rosenberger was born on July 15, 1951 in Bloomington, IL to Herman and Frances Marie Rosenberger. She was the second of four daughters –Judy the eldest, and Kathy and Debbie. The Rosenbergers were pastors of a series of small Foursquare churches in the Midwest, including in Rhinelander and Kenosha, WI, and Winterset, IA. In these formative years, Sharon developed a keen ability to organize the neighborhood kids into parades and pageants, learned to play the piano and accordion, and sang frequently in church. Eventually, the family settled in Chicago Heights, IL where Sharon attended Bloom High School, graduating in 1969. She attended Oral Robers University in Tulsa, OK, where 2 of her sisters also attended. Sharon graduated with a degree in English Literature in 1973. She completed classes for a Master’s Degree in English Literature at the University of Oklahoma during which time she met a tall, lanky young Okie named Richard at a church service. Their romance blossomed into a deep love, and they wed on July 26, 1975, she in a classic white lace gown and he in a daring white tux with tails. They honeymooned in Nassau, Bahamas, keeping journal entries of their daily adventures and expenditures on a handy paper laundry bag from their hotel.

Tragedy struck in 1976, with the untimely death of Judy, Sharon’s older sister, and her husband Will due to a motorcycle accident. When Richard graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1977, their horizons broadened to the West Coast, where Richard began working at ARCO in Bakersfield, CA. He was soon transferred to the Last Frontier in Anchorage, AK, where he spent years designing oil production facilities and well surveillance for Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk oil fields. Shortly after their move to Alaska, Richard and Sharon welcomed their first child, Joshua David Clausen, in 1978.

Tragedy struck again in the death of Marie, Sharon’s mother, to brain cancer in June 1979. At the behest of Sharon and her sisters, Herman Rosenberger remarried in December, bringing Margaret Gomez into the family as a wonderful woman of kindness and grace.

Richard and Sharon had 2 more children: Richard Allan Clausen Jr. in 1980, and Michelle Marie Clausen in 1983. Eventually, Richard and Sharon began to attend Anchorage Grace Church where a new Christian school was in its humble beginnings. Josh and later Richie began attending Grace Christian School, and in 1988, an injury among the elementary school teachers caused a mid-year reshuffling and Sharon found herself stepping in to the kindergarten classroom as Michelle’s teacher. That began an exciting chapter in Sharon’s teaching career, progressing into teaching music and directing musical productions with hundreds of elementary school students. Sharon developed an amazing talent for recruiting and empowering others to take on enormous roles in these productions then cheering them on as she blithely directed all the many other moving parts to put on some truly entertaining shows. The Clausen family spent many an evening putting together the scenery pieces and building and painting props, setting lights, and fatiguing forearms with the heavy-duty stapler.

Sharon excelled at bringing the Grace School community together. As her kids grew, she also moved into new classrooms as an 8th grade English teacher and the Jr/Sr high art and drama teacher. Musicals gave way to dramas like “Our Town”, “Little Women” and “Pride & Prejudice”, Shakespeare plays like “Much Ado About Nothing”, and farces like “Buckshot and Blossoms”. The finest production was “Fiddler on the Roof” that involved the entire choir and drama departments, a professional orchestra, and the biggest crowds Grace had to date.

When Michelle graduated in 2001, Sharon also graduated from teaching and took on a position as Corporate Events Coordinator for Faith Christian Community Church. From a single school, Sharon jumped into organizing an entire city’s worth of churches in corporate worship events. Supercharged productions with hundreds and sometimes thousands of participants, multi-church choirs, performers from other states, bluegrass bands, amazing BBQ, and filled arenas were part of that life chapter. Sharon and Richard also married off their boys to two wonderful daughters-in-law, Rich marrying Cori Wulf in 2002 and Josh marrying Casandra Clayton in 2003.

In 2006, Richard began working on a long-term project in Arcadia, CA and Sharon gleefully resigned her position in cold and snowy AK to move to sunny, bustling Southern CA, finalizing the move in 2008 – the year her first granddaughter McKenzie Marie was born.

After two rental homes and hunting for months, Sharon found her dream home in San Dimas, CA– high, airy ceilings, gorgeous sunset views, artistic inspiration everywhere. She settled into Nana-hood, joyfully planning fun-filled Christmases and Thanksgivings with piles of presents for the grandkids. She rekindled her love of art and took plein-air watercolor classes with a dedicated group of painters. Sharon and Richard regularly visited Michelle on the East Coast, discovering the more historic side of the country with great pleasure. Michelle married Patrick Sanders in 2011 in Maryland. For 8 years, Sharon enjoyed her early retirement in CA, then tolerated another 3 years back in AK until Richard retired in 2018.

Richard and Sharon relocated to Salem, OR in 2018, lured by two kids and multiple grandchildren. They found another dream home on a single level, featuring meadows equipped with lots of deer, birds, and squirrels. She took new art classes, virtual this time, and produced some of her finest landscapes.

Sharon adored Richard for more than 50 years together, and depended on his cool head, mechanical-mindedness, and excellent Traeger skills. Sharon devoted herself to family and church, hosting joyous family events and serving as the Queen of Birthdays.

Sharon departed this life to be with her Lord on April 26, 2025, at home. She is survived by her loving husband Richard, her stepmother Margaret Rosenberger, her sisters and their husbands, Debbie and Foch Fuller, and Kathy and Preston Hale, her three children and their spouses, Josh and Cassi Clausen, Rich and Cori Clausen, and Michelle and Patrick Sanders, her eleven grandchildren, and her nieces and nephews.

Her greatest jewel in her life’s crown was her family, praying unceasingly for them, connecting with each grandchild, cheering all on to being the best each could be. Sharon was faithful in her love for her family to the very end.