Jacqueline Sharkey, a former resident of Warwick, passed away on Saturday, July 4, 2020, at Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood, Arizona, due to complications from the novel corona virus. She was 83.
Jackie was born on Dec. 18, 1936, in Carnegie, Pa., to Clyde Griffiths and Ann Muller. She moved to Bayonne, N.J., where she married her childhood sweetheart James Sharkey. They had three children, Jimmy, Anna Rose and Christine. She resided for many years on Staten Island.
Jackie and Jim shared an infectious sense of humor that helped them get through the ups and downs of life.
Jackie received her Bachelor’s Degree Magna cum Laude from The City University of New York. She also took graduate courses in Social Work at Rutgers University and The College of Staten Island.
Both in her many jobs and as a volunteer, Jackie worked at enriching and easing the lives of others. She worked as a Montessori teacher, child and family advocate at a mental health agency, a team leader at a large residential child care agency, a hearing and vision screener for the N.Y.C. Department of Health, director of a senior center and as a social worker in a Brooklyn nursing home where she worked in the Hospice and Palliative care unit.
Jackie moved to Warwick in 2001 after the deaths of her husband James and her son Jimmy. She was steadfast in creating a circle of love between herself, her friends, her two little dogs Rudy and Leo and her grandchildren Justin and Alyssa. She shared her wisdom, love of the outdoors and art, often taking them into Manhattan to museums and Broadway plays.
As a volunteer Jackie started the Video Legacy Program for the clients of the Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties, making video tapes for families to have when their loved ones were no longer alive. As a volunteer for Puppies Behind Bars Jackie took the puppies into her home to socialize them to life in the outside world. Her little dogs and her grandchildren were her partners in acclimating the pups who would go on to become service dogs.
Jackie moved between homes in Warwick and Sedona, Arizona, where she was a member of the Sedona Westerners Hiking Club and spent many hours hiking in the Red Rocks. While in Sedona she spent many happy times with her daughter Christine and her husband Andrea.
As l lifelong learner, Jackie studied yoga and Buddhism. She retreated to the ashram in the Catskills to study meditation and replenish her soul.
She walked and jogged most of her adult life which keep her in great health. She loved to dance and thrived listening to the music of Maria Callas, Leonard Cohen and Krishna Das. She loved singing and had great fun in the Bell Choir.
She loved literature and The New York Times. She enjoyed travels to New York City, France, Italy and China which provided her with inspiration for her art. Jackie’s Inner creative spirit motivated her to create art and her passion for art drew her to various mediums such as water color and collage. She studied with Jonathan Talbot a premier collage artist residing in Warwick. She went on to show her work at SUNY Orange’s Art Space and other venues.
She found solace and healing when she spent time at Pacem In Terris in Warwick and Wawayanda State Park in New Jersey.
Jackie will always be remembered for her laughter and unique sense of humor.
Jackie is survived by her daughter Anna Rose and her husband Scott Lieberman of Upper Greenwood Lake, N.J., her daughter Christine and her husband Andrea of Arizona, her grandchildren Justin Waider of Warwick and Alyssa Waider of New York City, her brother Anthony Nocerino, his wife Arlene and her nephew Anthony Jr. of Norwood, New York.
Our family would like to thank the heroes of the Verde Valley Medical Center for the love and care they gave Jackie during her final days.