Sharon Kelley
March 11, 1941-July 29, 2026
Portola Valley, California
Sharon Lynn Kelley passed away peacefully at the age of 85. She was with family the final days, including, of course, her husband and soulmate of 66 years, Tom Kelley. Born Sharon Tranberg in Yuba City, California, she was a Central Valley girl in her early life, growing up in Fresno. After attending Fresno State, where she was a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority (and the White Rose Girl of Sigma Nu), she took a summer job at Yosemite’s Camp Curry that forever changed her life. For it was there that she met Tom, also working in Yosemite for the summer, thus beginning her Kelley journey.
After getting married and living brief stints elsewhere in the country, Sharon and Tom settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, predominately in Portola Valley where she spent the final 53 years of her beautiful life. A proud mother of three children, Sharon was active in the community and a friend to all. Most importantly, she was a wonderful wife and loving Mom, always doing whatever was needed for her family. Hobbies and interests during her life included gardening, tennis, skiing, Lake Tahoe weekends and holidays, world travel, wildlife of all kinds (she was an SF Zoo docent for many years and visited Africa several times), theater, church, Redwood City Costco + In-N-Out Burger trips, WOW meetings, water aerobics, doting over her grandchildren, and most of all, connecting with family members and friends far and wide. No one attended more reunions or made more “just checking in” calls than Sharon. She also played a mean game of dominoes and made the best tacos ever!
Sharon is survived by her two sisters Jackie and Donna, husband Tom, children Mark, Matthew and Kathleen, son and daughter in-laws Isaac and Molly, five grandchildren, Cameron, Carson, Brooke, Cole and Paige and three great grandchildren, Kira, Owen and Rhea. Sharon was a remarkable, loving person and will be dearly missed by all who were fortunate enough to experience her wonderful smile. Quite simply, she lit up every room she entered.
A celebration of Sharon’s life will be held at a later date. Details will be shared when available.