Sharon Joy (Lang) Gallagher | Obituaries

July 28, 1941 – February 9, 2021

Sharon Gallagher, the “joy” of our world, died suddenly on February 9, 2021 at her home in Peoria, Arizona. The announcement was as unexpected as it was devastating to her family, friends, and everyone who knew this beautiful, beloved soul.

Sharon was born on July 28, 1941 in Vancouver, Washington, to Fred and Myrtle Lang. She was the older of their two daughters and grew up in the Yakima, Tri-Cities and Skagit Valley regions before graduating from Burlington-Edison High School in 1959.

Sharon often remembered the days growing up with her proud parents and younger sister, Janet. She spent some of her favorite family memories camping, boating, and fishing in the many lakes and rivers across the state. (Or somewhere where Sharon’s dad, nicknamed “Fast Freddy”, caught the most salmon and trout!)

After moving to Yakima and attending junior college, Sharon worked at Associated Grocers where she met her future husband, Louis Vetsch Jr. In addition to becoming Louie’s wife in 1961, Sharon also took on the role of mother to his three children: Danny, Paula, and Damon.

Soon after the birth of their son Steve and daughter LeAnn, they bought a house in the West Chestnut neighborhood. Close neighbors, Miller, Irsfeld and Colon, became family there … and family memories were fun!

As a super mom raising five children, Sharon was as energetic as she was active. Her athleticism inspired her to play women’s softball, join several bowling leagues and join the Elks Golf and Country Club. Sharon has also been involved in various local organizations such as Junior Aid, The Alice Miller Guild, and Zonta; A group that empowers women through service and advocacy.

In 1976, Sharon and Louie separated on friendly terms, with Sharon remaining close with Louie’s many relatives over the years. Sharon welcomed her newfound independence with the confidence to support her and set out for a new career.

Sharon joined the Yakima Convention Bureau as a sales representative in 1976 and made a name for herself in the hospitality industry. That stepping stone led her to a successful position as Senior Sales Manager for the Thunderbird Motor Inn. Sharon’s hard work and dedication eventually paid off and in 1978 was promoted to Director of Sales and Catering at the newly constructed Red Lion Hotel in Bellevue, WA.

The inspiring Gallagher Love Story begins on August 17, 1979, the day Jim and Sharon became husband and wife. He was as successful as he was handsome, and she was as smart as she was beautiful! Together they made the perfect couple, mixing Jim’s three sons Jim Jr. Mike and Kelly with Sharon’s five children Danny, Paula, Damon, Steve and LeAnn. Little did they know that their family of eight would eventually grow to a total of sixty over the next four decades!

In the late 1980s, Sharon left the hospitality industry to join her husband and two sons, JR and Mike, and work for her well-respected family meat brokerage company, Farm Fresh Foods, in Issaquah, WA. During this time, Jim and Sharon developed many close relationships with their valued employees and loyal customers, resulting in many lifelong friendships that they would always cherish.

The physically active couple loved the warm summer days of the Pacific Northwest and enjoyed various outdoor activities such as jogging, golfing and tennis. Her most sought-after pastime, however, was wherever her 1986 blue and white Sea Ray boat called the Irish Wake would take her! Puget Sound, Lake Chelan, Lake Roosevelt, and anywhere on the Columbia River were just a few of their coveted destinations.

After Jim and Sharon vacationed in Arizona and fell in love with the scenic desert landscape and warmer climate, they bought a house in Westbrook Village on Topeka Drive in Peoria, AZ in 1997. The working couple enjoyed this perfect place for their favorite recreation and set their long-term goal of retirement … (and the short-term goal of playing golf every day!)

Jim and Sharon sold their 25 year old successful business and house in Bellevue and bought a second home in Yakima. Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sharon (aka… “Gigi!”), Who are now centrally located and live closer to the family, have gone from “part-time sun-seekers” to “full-time snowbirds” and really had the best of both Worlds!

Over the years, Jim and Sharon had many wonderful friends and neighbors in the Summitview Square and Westbrook communities where they lived. Belonging to different groups and participating in several social gatherings. The Gallaghers also knew how to have and throw a big party; Sharon always made sure the decor, food and entertainment were enjoyed by everyone!

Whenever Sharon was surrounded by her family; that made her heart whole, and that’s what she lived for. Some of Sharon’s most memorable vacations have included many fun and exhilarating trips attributed not only to Sharon but also to her beloved mother and our dear grandmother, Myrtle Lang.

Those crazy good times included a 1993 Hawaii vacation in honor of Grandma Lang’s 70th birthday, which followed in 1998 for her 75th birthday with friends and family in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The cherished Mexican Cruise 2000 and the Alaska Cruise 2004 were special, as was Sharon’s 75th birthday celebration “Great Gatsby” at the Alderbrook Resort near the Hood Canal.

Sharon’s stamina had endless amounts of energy and led her to run a half marathon in her thirties. Skydiving in Hawaii in her forties; hanging upside down to kiss the Blarney Stone in Cork, Ireland in the fifties; Slalom skis with their kids and Tube with their grandchildren in their sixties; She played numerous rounds of golf, took tai chi classes, and rode a horse in her seventies!

Your two address books combined contain nearly three hundred and sixty-seven names, and your cell phone holds over nine thousand pictures! How Sharon kept up with Sharon is just amazing, amazing … and exhausting! (But we loved that she did!)

Sharon was preceded in death by her husband Jim Gallagher; Sons Danny Vetsch and Kelly Gallagher; her parents Fred and Myrtle Lang and sister Janet Youngquist.

Sharon is survived by son Damon (Len) Vetsch; Steve (Lynn) Vetsch; Jim Jr. Gallagher (Kathleen); Mike (Roxanne) Gallagher; Daughter Paula (Byron) Palmer; LeAnn (Cherie) Vetsch; her sixteen grandchildren; Jennifer Palmer; Derek (Ericka) Palmer; Aaryn (Adam) Heib; Kassica (Jared) Shulkin; Wyatt Volkmann; Brooke (Ryan) Petty; Jake Vetsch; Shannon (TJ) Vaughn, Randy (Angela) Sandall; Erin (Zach) Smith; Conner Gallagher; Cailin (Cory) carpenter; Joe Gallagher; Ashely Gallagher … Eighteen great-grandchildren; Easton, Sawyer, Everlee, Brenton, Braxton, Breclan, Jackson, Jona, Sloan, Sullivan, Charlie, Henry, Benton, Baby Jackson, Travis, Kailynn, Madisyn, Olivia; her three nephews, John (Shelly) Youngquist; Jeff (Kelly) Youngquist; James Youngquist (Stacy); her six great nieces and nephews JJ, Trisha, Justin, Kindsey, Jasper and Daisy.

Please visit www.gatheringus.com to contribute to your lasting memory. A private memorial will be held at Lake Chelan this summer.