It is with great sadness that the family of Dr. Sharon Wanda Sloan announce her passing on September 30, 2020, at the age of 68 years.

Sharon lived life on her own terms, and according to her own rules. This is nowhere as evident as in her educational career: she went back to college after a years-long hiatus because she lost a poker hand - whose bet was her continuing education - one night. Though she lost the bet (and thus had to finish her degree), she found a community at the University of Texas at Dallas in which she thrived, going on to become a Fulbright Scholar and studying in Frankfurt, Germany for 3 years while she wrote her Masters Thesis on the Holocaust Poetry of Paul Celan, a Romanian-born German poet. Under the direction (and brief involuntary imprisonment as her dissertation deadline loomed) of her lifelong friend and mentor, Rainer Schulte, she completed her PhD in Aesthetics. For Christmas that year, everyone got a copy of her bound dissertation - an examination of translation as art, not science.

Her nieces and nephews knew her as both the best and craziest aunt anyone could ask for. Though she was known for accidentally almost burning down at least one of their houses in an unfortunate cooking incident, regularly packed entirely too many children in her Geo Metro, and did seem to have a magnet for squirrels and prairie dogs whilst road tripping, she was also the one who designed trips to musicals and museums, and hosted movie night sleepovers and years-long games of German Monopoly. 

A life-long lover of the arts, Sharon taught for years at the Art Institute of Dallas, finishing her teaching career at the Art Institute of Phoenix. After her retirement, she took up several artistic pursuits as hobbies: mosaics, broom-making, and quilting and sewing among them. She also began working with the Carroll County Literacy Council and assisting with ESL classes near her home in Berryville, Arkansas.

She will be missed by her siblings and their spouses, Leon (Butch) Sloan III and wife, Elaine, Karen (Sloan) and husband, Jack Thompson, and Jack Sloan and wife, Kerri; nieces and nephews, Katy (Sloan) and husband, Chris Mitchell, Talia Thompson and fiancé, Alex Berk, Jacob Sloan and wife, Lindsay, Amanda (Sloan) and husband, Brian Perry, Tristan (Thompson) and husband, Travis Gilliam, and Jonathan Sloan and wife, Kim; 8 great-nieces and nephews; and her long-time roommates and friends Glenda Moore and Cathrin Yoder. She will also be missed by coworkers, friends, and students across the country. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, Leon and Bettye Sloan; and her nephew, Nathan Sloan.

In lieu of flowers, if you feel so led, please use the Donate button to make a donation to the Dallas Museum of Art honoring Sharon, or reach out to the Carroll County Literacy Council. 

The family wishes to extend special thanks to the staff of Rowlett Nursing Home for their care and compassion.

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Thank you for visiting the memorial page for Sharon Sloan. As the family discussed what kind of Celebration of Life we felt was most reflective of Sharon, we decided that a formal ceremony of pomp and circumstance was decidedly off-brand for a woman whose preferred footwear was (more often than not) a pair of bright orange Crocs. A much more true memorial, we decided, would blend authenticity with technology. To that end, we are curating this online space for her friends and family to share their stories, pictures, videos or other media. Please do add your voice, or just drop us a note to let us know you were here.