SHARON ANNE CONNELL CARABELLO

MARCH 4, 1947 - JANUARY 23, 2019

First and foremost, Sharon was a caregiver. 

She still is; she will always be. 

Sharon was the oldest of eight siblings, and from a young age, she embraced the role of caring for her six younger sisters and younger brother. When she and Joe began a family of their own, she continued this role while raising Joel and Zeb with love, compassion, wisdom, and a strong dose of – when needed, as it often was with those boys and their dad – “piss and vinegar,” as her feistiness is described by many of her beloved sisters.

When Zeb was born with a cleft lip and palate and could not breastfeed or drink from any baby bottles one (thanks for teaching us grammar, Mom) could buy at the time, she fed him – painstakingly – with tiny sips from 1 oz. ketchup cups, like ones you might find at a fast food restaurant. She did this several times a day. For months and months.

When Zeb’s original doctor provided by the insurance company lacked “bedside manner” and had outdated ideas of how to treat the cleft, she told him what she thought of him, and she informed the insurance company that they would need to approve a new doctor for her son immediately, or else.  

The company obliged, and throughout the years, Sharon Anne Connell Carabello would win many more battles with powerful health insurance companies, relentlessly drowning them in amounts of piss and vinegar few of them had ever before seen.     

Sharon raised her sons to be conscientious young men: Hold the door open for strangers. Give up your seat for someone older or younger or weaker. Speak up when talking to adults, and never go too far in the conversation without asking the other person about them. Clear your dishes, and then wash them. Take care of your stuff and take care of other people’s stuff like it’s your own stuff.

Be loyal.

Be selfless.

That was one thing Sharon had no tolerance for – braggarts who talked about themselves too much – and that's why she had no use for Facebook or social media; after all, aren’t these basically platforms inviting people to brag about themselves too much? 

Plus, who needs Facebook when you have a group of such loyal friends – “The Buff Babes,” as they were known throughout east Denver – whose friendship went back to elementary school and lasted until the very end.

Loyalty was something many of her students still have for “Mrs. Sharon,” as she was known to the hundreds of Latino and Asian immigrants in Longmont and Westminster she taught to speak, read, and write English throughout her long career of teaching evening “English Language Acquisition” classes. Sharon remained friends with many of her students for decades after teaching them, as was evident whenever her family walked into an Asian or Mexican restaurant operated by one of her students, the Carabellos always getting top-shelf treatment because her students were so grateful for Mrs. Sharon’s presence in their lives.

But of course, no dedication of Sharon’s ever measured to the dedication she had to her family, and after nearly 30 years of constantly putting up with being surrounded by bloated testosterone in her own home – Joe, Joel, Zeb, Cody, Hogan, hamsters, newts, goldfish: all males; all! – nothing delighted Sharon more than finally getting two daughters in the family when Meaghan and Wendy came along within a few years of each other.

As was her way, Sharon instantly adopted Wendy and Meaghan into the family and doted on them relentlessly – they were not her daughters-in-law; they were her daughters.  

A few years later, Maggie and Luca were her grandkids, and of course, she more than excelled at being a grandma. No one – no one! – made Grandma laugh like Luca, and no one made Grandma smile like Maggie, who shared her love of seashells, the ocean, Nancy Drew mysteries, old-time family Knick Knacks, and so many other things.

Sharon loved mysteries and thrillers, whether it was Mulder and Scully, Jason Bourne, Jack Ryan, or Dean Koontz. Scrabble games with Sharon were more like battles (even Merriam-Webster vs. Oxford was a point of contention). She loved to listen to KBCO radio, John Cougar, and Matchbox 20, and she made the best “gravy” for pasta. The. Best. A dinner of buttered popcorn cooked in properly warmed oil on the stove, an ice-cold Coke or Squirt, and a Milky Way were every bit as good to her as a five-star restaurant dinner. 

Lucky for Sharon, Joe knew how to make popcorn just the way she liked it, just like he had been working to make her happy since they were high school sweethearts from rival Catholic schools, Sharon the bookworm cheerleader and Joe the – let’s just say, “non-bookworm.” While Joe’s efforts to make her happy were not always successful, for more than 50 years Sharon and Joe were a model of how to be great partners as parents, grandparents, friends, family, and people. Joe’s loyalty, selflessness, and love for Sharon were never more evident than in her final years when he daily sacrificed 100% of his personal being to be her caregiver and keep her at home, even as her medical needs became increasingly complicated. 

On one of her last days, Sharon was asked who she was most excited to see “on the other side.” Of course, she mentioned her mom and dad, a few friends and family, and then she dropped a few other names of faces she really, really wanted to see: Brad Pitt and Bradly Cooper.

Sharon kept her humor until her last breath came at home, in her bed, surrounded by family late in the evening on Jan. 23, 2019, but we know her ever-lasting and ever-loving spirit will continue in so many breaths for so many decades to come: Every time we see a beautiful garden, we will think of the breath of life Sharon and her green thumb birthed to uncountable numbers of flowers and plants in her lavish oases she born throughout the years. Every time we see her husband, son, or grandson go out of his way to hold the door for a stranger, we will breathe her breath.

This is how we will know she has not taken her last breath – she never will.

And if we start to breathe a little heavier when Brad and Bradly come on the big screen? That will also be a sign.  

Sharon, Mom, Grandma: We love you; we will continue to breathe your breaths. 

Sharon is survived by her husband, Joe; sons, Joel and Zeb; daughters, Wendy and Meaghan; and grandchildren, Maggie and Luca.

She is also survived by her sisters: Candi, Mikki, Kathi, Barbara, Danette, and Bridget, along with her brother, John.

Sharon was proceeded in death by her parents, Daniel and Barbara.

 
In lieu of flowers, Sharon has asked that anyone wanting to make a donation in her memory contribute to help support a charity near and dear to her heart -- The Children's Hospital Colorado Cleft Lip and Palate camps. Here is a link to the camp's website: https://www.childrenscolorado.org/doctors-and-departments/departments/surgery/programs/cleft-lip-and-palate-clinic/cleft-camp/

Checks of any amount can be sent to:

CHCO Cleft Camp

Attn: Jamie Idelberg

13123 E. 16th Ave.

Box 420

Aurora, CO 80045 

Checks can be made out to CHCO Cleft Camp. You can write Sharon Carabello on the memo line. Sorry, but there is no option for electronic payment. Thank you.