Sharon Kay Joslin

Terre Haute - Sharon Kay Berry Hunt Joslin, 81, of Terre Haute passed away the afternoon of
September 20, 2023. She was a retired teacher with the Vigo County School Corporation,
enjoying a long career that enabled her to touch the lives of many students. Sharon was born
February 8, 1942 at St. Anthony’s hospital in Terre Haute as the first child to Clyde Augustus
Berry and Evelyn Eileen Stogsdill Berry. When her father was enlisted into the army in late
1943, she and her mother lived in a duplex on Sycamore while waiting on his return. While
there, he made them proud by landing at Normandy in July of 1944, participating in the Battle of
the Bulge, and by being awarded the Purple Heart twice for his bravery and sacrifice. Upon his
return, the family purchased a home on Elm St. where Sharon spent her childhood.

Sharon had a true love of all things academic. She attended McKeen Elementary School and
McLean Junior High School, where her teachers recognized early on her propensity for
academic excellence. She would go on to graduate from Gerstmeyer Technical High School as
the valedictorian of the class of 1959. While attending Gerstmeyer, Sharon was quite the well-
rounded student. Serving as an attendant to the Football Queen, being the runner-up to the Junior
Prom Queen, attending Hoosier Girls State, and participating in the science fair were just a few
of her accomplishments. After high school, Sharon would go on to graduate Cum Laude from
Indiana State Teachers’ College in June of 1963 with a degree in Elementary Education. While
attending Indiana State, Sharon was a proud member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.

Sharon was a beloved teacher for the Vigo county School Corporation and spent close to forty
years as an elementary education teacher. She had teaching assignments at both Collett
Elementary School and Montrose Elementary School, but the majority of her career was spent at

Crawford Elementary School. Sharon absolutely loved teaching at Crawford. She loved the
neighborhood in which it was located and was grateful for the opportunities it afforded her to
teach students from all over the world due to its proximity to Indiana State University’s Married
Student Housing complex. Another blessing for Sharon about working at Crawford was the
wonderful friendships she built there with her colleagues. One in particular, Julia Bonham, was
Sharon’s best friend and confidant during their teaching careers and on into their respective
retirements. To say Sharon was much-loved by her students does not fully encompass how much
they loved her. Many of her former students remained in contact with her, and so many of them
constantly told her she was their favorite teacher. While growing up, it was not uncommon for
her daughters to have to field phone calls from former students seeking out Mrs. Hunt or Mrs.
Joslin, and they would often listen to students they encountered out in public while with Sharon
go on to tell them how lucky they were to have Mrs. Hunt or Mrs. Joslin as their mom. Sharon
just lived to teach, as it was her life, and this showed in her passion for her students. She
absolutely loved to teach every day of her career, and a genuine thrill for her was to be able to
hear from her former students and share in all of their life’s joys. In her heart, once a child was
her student, that child was always one of her kids.

Throughout her life, Sharon was a passionate member of many organizations. Any group
fortunate to have Sharon as a member, was one that could count on her to actively participate and
support in any way she could. For many years, Sharon attended and was a member of Grace
United Methodist Church. After its closure, she attended and was an active member of Maple
Avenue United Methodist Church. Sharon loved Maple Avenue, and especially loved attending
its many musical shows. Sharon was a longtime member of Alpha Delta Kappa sorority. She

loved attending meetings and seeing her many friends in that organization. Sharon had a
tremendous amount of fun as a member of the Red Hat Society. She loved buying hats and
outfits and attending their fun meetings and outings. She has many good and loving friends in all
of those organizations and the many more not listed here. Sharon loved to be involved with
people and in her community. She was a vibrant and active supporter of many groups and causes.

Sharon had an eternal optimism and a zest for living life to its fullest every day. She loved to
travel and learn as much as possible about everything she could. One of her favorite travel
experiences was when she was able to visit Ireland. She absolutely loved it there. Back home,
Sharon was an expert on all things Terre Haute and was known for being able to relate most
things back to Terre Haute in some way. She was truly Terre Haute’s biggest fan and was so
happy to celebrate every success that Terre Haute experienced. She saw the beauty of Terre
Haute everywhere she looked and recognized the city for its uniqueness. Sharon loved to learn
about all the places she traveled. Her daughters would often joke that while their friends got to
go on fun vacations as children, their vacations were based on visits to museums and historical
sites. When Sharon’s daughter moved to Ohio, Sharon quickly became an expert on the history
of NE Ohio as well. With Sharon’s ability to talk and make friends with everyone she met,
Sharon also made many friends in this new area. When her daughter would travel to stores in
Ohio, clerks would often ask her how Sharon was doing and when she would be back to visit.

One of Sharon’s great gifts was her ability to decorate and make everything perfect and
beautiful. She loved decorating her house, and it looked like it could be featured in the pages of a
magazine. When decorating for the holidays, Sharon went all out. Every room would have

beautiful touches, and this attention to detail made every holiday beautiful and special for her
family. This high standard for beauty was one Sharon held for herself as well. She was known
for dressing immaculately and having perfect hair and makeup at all times. It was often joked
that she would not even step outside to get the mail unless she was completely made up. Her
daughters know this was not a joke.

Personally, Sharon married her high school sweetheart, Carl Edgar Hunt shortly after her
graduation from college in June of 1963. They were married for twenty years until their divorce
in 1983. Sharon and Ed were blessed with two beautiful daughters, Sherri Lynn Hunt in 1964
and Melanie Dawn Hunt in 1970. Sharon adored her daughters and loved being their mom. She
loved making their lives fun and special. Every holiday and special event was a big deal, and her
daughters were blessed to have her give them so many happy memories of family traditions.
Sharon would continue this ability to make things special with her grandchildren as well. Sharon
would go on to marry Loren Joslin in 1989 and they would divorce in 1998. For the past twenty
years, Sharon has spent time with her longtime companion, Walter Tacker, whom she originally
met in the first grade.

Survivors include her loving daughters, Sherri L. Kelley of Terre Haute and Melanie D. Kyler
(Christopher) of Massillon, OH; brother, Dennis (Shirley) Berry of WI and sister Phyllis Young
of Terre Haute; her grandchildren, Zachary E. Kelley of Terre Haute, Elisabeth E. Kelley of
Terre Haute, Rachel A. Wilkins Stewart (Brandon) of Las Vegas, NV, Corey R. Kyler of
Clinton, OH, and Alexus M. Kyler of Clinton, OH; her great-grandson, Brady E. Kelley of Terre
Haute; her longtime companion Walter Tacker and his daughter Kim Tacker Murphy; her best

friend Julia Bonham; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Sharon was preceded in death
by her parents and her grandson, Nicholas Christopher Wilkins.

Sharon embraced life and learning. Her desire would be for everyone to appreciate all of the
beauty this world has to offer during every day we are fortunate enough to be here. Sharon loved
the poem “Desiderata” by Terre Haute author Max Ehrmann. An excerpt from it sums up her
attitude for living: And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it
should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your
labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham,
drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Visitation will be held at Greiner Funeral Home on Friday, October 6, 2023 from 4:00 to 8:00
PM. Funeral will be held at Maple Avenue United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 7,
2023 at 1:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Vigo County Education
Foundation or to Smile Train.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sharon Kay Joslin, please visit our floral store.