There are people in this world who quietly and reliantly radiate kindness and goodness, and our beloved Sharon was one of these rare souls.Sharon Merle Kristovich entered her heavenly reward on her 83rd birthday on Sunday, November 24, 2024.Sharon’s generosity of spirit, compassion to all around her, and selflessness in times of hardship will never be forgotten by all who knew her.
Born Sharon Jung on November 24, 1941, in Bethel, Alaska, to Henry and Gladys Jung, she was the second of eleven children and the second oldest of eight daughters. Her early years were spent up and down the Kuskokwim River, with her time in Sleetmute being the backdrop for many of her fondest recollections. Sharon had a sharp memory, keenly listened to her elders, and could list her family's genealogy down to the most distant cousin.She always enjoyed sharing stories of how people were interconnected by blood and friendship.
Sharon experienced the love of close family and many extended relatives growing up. She took on all the responsibilities of being an older daughter in a large family, and the caretaking skills she developed would serve her well later in her career.
In the late 1950s, Sharon's best friend Evelyn Pete decided that they would both go downstates and become nurses.Sharon was excited about the idea of traveling out of Alaska with her vivacious best friend and starting their life adventures together.At this time in history, this plan was no small feat for a couple of young Yup’ik women from southwest Alaska, but they were committed to this bold plan.Then, life in the form of a man with the surname Elliott interrupted.Evelyn was whisked off her feet and decided to stay in Alaska to start her family.Sharon had a choice to make. Nervous but resolute, she stuck with the plan and went to Sacred Heart Nursing School in Spokane, Washington alone.She worked through homesickness, studied hard, and graduated.She always looked back fondly at the time spent at Sacred Heart and the friendships she shared with her classmates.
After graduating as a Registered Nurse, Sharon lived and worked in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.In the mid-1960s, she moved to the West Coast to experience California. She packed up all her important worldly belongings and traveled to her new home in Oakland. Here, she continued her career as an RN and witnessed the colorful sights and sounds of the Bay Area in the 1960s.
The financial freedom of being an RN allowed her to entertain the travel bug that would stay with her for the rest of her life.One of her furthest trips at that time was to New Zealand via Sydney, Australia.She made this trip with friends at a time when it was unheard of for a young Eskimo girl from Alaska to travel internationally.Sharon was adventurous, fun, and brave.
In 1968, her son David was born while she was living in Oakland.David became her world. She sometimes recalled taking him for strolls around a lake not far from Alameda Naval Base and enjoying the sweet smells of the roses.In 1970, she returned to Alaska to live in Bethel.She wanted to be closer to family as she raised David.She wanted her little “Dooby” to grow up safe and surrounded by family, like how she felt safe and surrounded by family when she grew up.
Not long after returning to Bethel she met William “Bill” Kristovich.Sharon and Bill were married in Lihue, on the island of Kauai in 1972 and shared the next 52 years together.Bill’s work with Wien Air Alaska took the family to Dillingham and Sharon worked at the Dillingham hospital.This was a time of joy for the family as they often went camping and enjoyed family trips to Hawaii.Sharon always had fond memories of Dillingham and her time with the fun-loving Dillingham-ers, some of whom she regarded as dear friends.
Sharon and Bill happily welcomed their son Matt to the world in 1976.David remarked that he was, “the cutest little baby I ever did see.”The family of 4 continued to enjoy living in Dillingham until the early 1980s when Bill’s job again had them moving, this time back to Bethel.The move was bittersweet for Sharon as she loved everything about Dillingham, but also looked forward to being closer to her large family in Bethel.She and Bill talked about moving back to Dillingham one day, and this nice idea stayed with her for the rest of her life.
A devout Catholic, Sharon volunteered countless hours to the Church.With reverence, she took on her responsibilities as a Eucharistic Minister and donated her time at the Catholic Church rummage sales.She enjoyed all the friendships she made with her Catholic sisters and brothers. Sharon was also a part of the Bethel rosary prayer chain and spent many hours praying for those in need and consoling the recently bereft.
Sharon also loved to volunteer with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary.Every year at the Bethel 4th of July grounds you could reliably see her smiling, wearing her colorful Ladies Auxiliary vest, and working the booth selling raffle tickets.Sharon was a stout believer in honoring those who served in the military.She also occasionally liked putting on a juicy outfit, attending the famous VFW cut-and-cook dinners, and cutting a rug on the Post 10041 dancefloor.
She generously gave her time to her family, and her medical background and knowledge were especially valued. With love and devotion, she cared for her parents as they grew old and needed special attention. She also spent many hours helping the end of her aunts’ and uncles’ lives be as pain-free and peaceful as possible. Always the caretaker, many lives were improved by her compassionate and skillful hands.
When she was not working or volunteering her time to community non-profits, Sharon enjoyed planting flowers and trees, tending her garden with her husband Bill, attending Catholic mass, watching the antics of the birds outside her window, picking berries, making delicious akutaq, helping prepare smoked salmon strips, jarring salmon, and marking the comings and goings of the seasons by the migrations of the swallows and robins.She also enjoyed her walks around town, traveling to visit her sons and grandchildren, sharing in the celebration of family & friends’ joyful milestones, being a neighbor to her dear friend Sylvia Romer in their winter trailers in Coolidge, AZ, perusing shopping places - thoughtfully choosing items that she believed her family and friends would appreciate, taking maqis with Bill or her friends, traveling to Hawaii and Las Vegas with Bill, taking international trips with friends to visit sites of holy Catholic miracles, writing cards to family and friends commemorating birthdays and holidays, dancing at parties and celebrations, keeping in touch with friends via phone calls, reading good books, and worrying about her boys.
Sharon is preceded in death by her siblings, Jon and Carol, her brother-in-law, Ben Dale, and her husband of 52 years, Bill Kristovich, who passed only 12 days before Sharon.
She is survived by her sons David Smania, Matthew (Heidi) Kristovich, granddaughters Siena and Anya Smania and Isabel Baesman, siblings Lillian Marcus, Catherine Dale, Richard (Alice) Jung, Bernice “Mumsy” (Tim) Albright, Hilary “Poopsie” Jung, Henry “Mutt” (Laura) Jung Jr., Kimberly Jung, Kelly (Theron) Powell, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and stepchildren.
Our family invites all who loved Sharon to come and celebrate her life on Saturday, January 18th at the Anchorage Funeral Home & Crematory at 1800 Dare Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska from 2 PM – 3:30 PM. A full dinner reception will follow at the Fox Hollow Chalet located at 11701 Brayton Drive.Sharon’s family looks forward to hearing all the stories and memories you would like to share.