In Memory of Phillip Sharp

Phillip P. Sharp, age 77 of Cambridge died February 19, 2023 at home.  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, February 27th at Cambridge Lutheran Church with a visitation 1 hour prior.

Phill was raised by his grandparents, Leonard and Olive Williams, in Ashland, Oregon.  He enlisted in the Navy in 1964 and was discharged in 1968.  He was working as a long distance semitruck driver when he met his future wife, Sandra, in Rosemount, Minnesota, and her three kids, Julie, Kim and Scott.  He was brave enough to take on being an instant father of three and a husband, and he and Sandra were married on August 2, 1974.  The two of them then welcomed a fourth child, Patrick, in February of 1977.

Phill worked for Praxair as a semitruck driver for 25 years while the family lived in Rosemount.  During that time, he and Sandy discovered a small cabin on Ash Lake in Orr, Minnesota, which they fell in love with and promptly bought.  Over the years, he and Sandy expanded and turned the small cabin into their dream home.  In 2004, Sandy retired and they moved to Ash Lake and spent the next 17 years there.  Phil worked for a few years as a semitruck driver for Wayne Transport before he retired.

He loved the outdoors and enjoyed fishing and hunting.  He was a gun safety instructor in Orr, and enjoyed teaching young kids about gun safety.  He was always outside working on some project, out driving around on the ATV, or cruising the lake on the boat.  In the winter time, it would sometimes take him 3 days to plow out after a major snow storm.  He would come in from plowing covered in snow and frozen to the bone but with a huge grin on his face.

Sandy was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2011, and Phill was an absolutely amazing caretaker who helped her through a stem cell transplant and years of treatment.  Sandy was the love of his life and everyone that knew him commented on how he doted on Sandy and took such good care of her.

With the help of the kids, he and Sandy moved to Cambridge, Minnesota in October, 2020.  It was extremely difficult for them to leave their dream home, but health issues had made it hard to stay in Orr and the kids wanted them closer so they could help with things.  The last three years have been spent getting to know Cambridge and making it their home, and enjoying the fact that the kids and grandkids could come visit more frequently.

Phill and Sandy had just traded in their pick-up truck for a smaller SUV last week.  He loved his pick-up, but he was really struggling with his health and was excited to have a vehicle that would be a lot easier for Sandy to drive.  It was almost as if he knew that he had made sure that Sandy would be ok without him and now it was safe to go.  He has left a huge hole in our hearts and will be missed so much.

He is survived by his loving wife, Sandy; four children, Julie Melhart, Kim (Tom) Hertog, Scott (Carolyn) Sharp, and Patrick (Sereen) Sharp; 9 grandchildren, 1 great-grandchild, other relatives and friends.