Obituary of Sharon Kay Vogelaar

    Sharon Kay Vogelaar, oldest daughter of Donald W. and Lillian (Neilsen) Norton, was born June 23, 1948, in Hartley, IA. Her childhood years were spent in rural Sanborn, IA, along with her three younger sisters: Diane, Susan and Lynne.  

    She received her education in Sanborn, graduating from Sanborn High School in 1966. Following graduation, Sharon attended one semester at the University of Northern Iowa College in Cedar Falls, IA.

    On Saturday, May 11, 1968, Sharon became the bride of Gregory Vogelaar at the First Presbyterian Church in Sanborn. The new couple made their home in Sanborn, where they would live the remainder of their married life. They recently celebrated their 55^th wedding anniversary this past May. Three children would eventually complete their family: Scott, Michael, and Jill. 

    Greg and Sharon owned and operated Sanborn Foods in downtown Sanborn for over 40 years. Along with taking care of her growing family and attending school activities, Sharon was bookkeeper for the grocery store and helped out on busy truck delivery days. When she wasn’t working at the store or camped out on the bleachers at one of the kids’ sporting events, Sharon loved to be in the kitchen stirring up something good to eat. Sewing and quilting was another passion she enjoyed. Pleasurable hours at the sewing machine produced many hand-made memories for family and friends to treasure. As grandchildren were added to the family, it only gave Sharon more reason to bake and sew and “cheer on the home team” at football games, volleyball matches and recently, even bowling contests. She was her kids’ and grandkids’ most ardent fan.

    Originally, as members of the First Presbyterian Church in Sanborn, Sharon participated in church activities and taught Sunday School. When her children were in elementary school, the family transferred to First Reformed, also in Sanborn, to take advantage of more opportunities for the youth.

    On Saturday, May 27, 2023, Sharon passed from this life at the age of 74 years. Those who went before her were her parents, Don and Lil Norton; her in-laws, Vic and Laurie Vogelaar; sister, Susan Allen; sister-in-law, Deborah Vogelaar; niece, Sarah Allen; great-grandson, Sylas Gengler; other family members and dear friends.

    Keeping Sharon’s memory close at heart are her husband, Greg Vogelaar of Sanborn, IA; children: Scott (Teresa) Vogelaar of Sanborn, IA – grandchildren: Tyler, TJ and Tiffany, Michael (Sara) Vogelaar of Story City, IA – granddaughters: Mia, Jessica, Kelly and Reagan, Jill (Jeremy) Niichel of Sanborn, IA – grandsons: Dawson, Noah and Braden, “Bonus” granddaughter, Amanda (Elgersma) Bruscher; 12 great-grandchildren; sisters: Diane (Jackson) Hendrickson of Vale, SD, and Lynne Norton of Colton, SD; sisters-in-law: Heidi (Jim) Postma of Sanborn, IA and Vicki (Terry) Protextor of Iowa City, IA; many other relatives and friends.