Sharon Kay Piper

Sharon Kay (Hughes) Piper was born in Humansville, Missouri to Sophie (Study) and Leonard Dale Hughes, on December 29, 1946. She married Carroll Wilson Piper on May 23, 1964 shortly after graduating from Collins High School, in Collins, Missouri. They had two children; Tod R. Piper and Shelly A. Graves (Piper). Both reside in the Flemington, Missouri, area. Sharon was an extraordinary woman and wore many hats over her lifetime. She grew up on the Brush Creek Bottoms, west of Collins, and helped her family work the family farm. After marrying Carroll, she worked in various restaurants as a cook and waitress; she was a caregiver to small children and disadvantaged adults. She was an extremely gifted softball player and coach to many young children. Sharon and Carroll owned and operated the Humansville Star-Leader in the 1970s and 80s, until her health forced her to retire from that line of work. She then began taking on a larger role in her own family farm, Piper Farms, where she loved raking and baling hay with her husband. She loved to be outside gardening, hunting, and fishing in her free time until her health would not allow it, but her all-time favorite past time was visiting and spending time with her two best friends, who she regarded as “her sisters,” Norine Osburn and Jenny Layton. She also looked forward to her long phone conversations with her cousin, “sister” Grace Griswold. Above all else, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were the loves of her life. Sharon was preceded in death by her mother, Sophie Hughes; her father, Leonard Hughes; her husband, Carroll Piper; brother-in-law, H. Duane Piper. She is survived by her son, Tod Piper, and his daughter Samantha Piper, of Flemington; her daughter and son-in-law, Shelly and Johnny Graves, of Flemington, and their daughters: Dana Graves, of Flemington, Ashley Allen and husband Thomas, of Bolivar, and their sons, Richard and Dallas; Brandy Vastine and husband Chris, of Humansville, and their children, Keara and Alex; Crystal Wright and husband Patrick, of Springfield, Missouri, and their sons, Zane and Drake; her brother Kenneth Hughes and wife Nina, of Flemington; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Donnie and Marilyn Piper, of Georgetown, Texas; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Shirley and Jerry Emanuel, of University City, Missouri; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Gaylord and Lorna Piper, Flemington; many nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbors. A visitation will be held from 5:00 – 8:00 pm on Sunday, April 17, 2016, at the Butler Funeral Home Chapel, of Humansville, Missouri. Funeral Services will be at 10:00 am, on Monday, April 18, 2016, at the Butler Funeral Home Chapel, of Humansville, Missouri, with Rev. Matt Underwood officiating. Burial will follow the funeral, at Flemington Cemetery, in Flemington, Missouri.

Sharon Kay Piper

December 29, 1946 - April 13, 2016