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The Funeral Service for Sharon K. Ellingson, age 76 of Hettinger, will be held at 1:00pm MT Friday, November 5, 2021 at the Hettinger Lutheran Church with Pastor Allan Wickstrom and Pastor Charlotte Kvale, officiating.  Following a time of fellowship and refreshments, interment will take place in the Duck Creek Cemetery southwest of Lodgepole, SD.

The funeral service will be broadcasted live online on Sharon's obituary page on the funeral home's website www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com

Special music will be provided by Laurie Wickstrom and Bart Damjanovich.

Serving as Honorary Casketbearers are Sydney Ellingson, Hailey Block, Sonny Block, Jaylynn Huiner, and all of Sharon's nieces and nephews.

Serving as Active Casketbearers are Tucker Ellingson, Forrest Nash, Garrett Sanford, Daniel Block, Dale Nash, and George Nash.

Visitation will be on Thursday from 3:00 to 7:00pm at the Centennial Chapel of the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger.

A memorial has been established.  Cards can be mailed to Phillip Ellingson, 1104 US Hwy 12, Hettinger, ND  58639.

Sharon Kay Sanford was born on April 17 ^th , 1945 in Dickinson, ND to Gordon and Hilda (Paulson) Sanford. Three brothers then joined the family, Alan, Bruce and Rick. She grew up on a farm 4 miles south of Reeder and attended school in Reeder, graduating in 1963. Hunting with coon dogs and fishing were just a few of the adventurous childhood activities Sharon and her brothers took part in.

She met Philip Ellingson at a dance in Gascoyne, ND. They were married February 19 ^th , 1965 in Reeder. As a couple they enjoyed square dancing. Phillip and Sharon made their home in rural Perkins County. 3 children were born to this union, Nancy, Brian and Rebecca. Sharon was an excellent cook and was well known for her scalloped potatoes, macaroni and tomatoes and pumpkin bars. She also loved plants and gardening and with that came wonderful canned pickles, tomatoes and beets from her garden. She loved kids and enjoyed working at a daycare in Hettinger once her own kids were older.

Sharon was a member of Duck Creek Lutheran Church and was famous for her delicious popcorn balls at Christmas services. There was just something special about that little church on the prairie—it had a way of making you feel closer to God. She loved writing letters and before it got too difficult to write, she handwrote each and every Christmas letter. It was important to her to keep in touch with family and friends, near and far.

In August 2015 Sharon fell at home and broke her ankle and her life was never the same. After surgery and rehab in Bismarck/Mandan she ended up in a nursing home in Spearfish. Her family made every effort to go down to visit her every weekend. She made friends there easily, but it was still so hard to say goodbye to us on Sunday evenings—she wished more than anything to go home with us. In September 2016 there was an opening at Western Horizons Care Center in Hettinger so she was moved closer to family but still she wished she could walk again and get home to the farm. Dad joined her in the nursing home in January 2019 and together they enjoyed watching tv, going to bingo, attending devotions, family visits and special music. Mom loved watching Professional Bull Riding, the Game Show Network, The Weather Channel and baseball on tv.

Nothing brought her more joy than her grandkids, she was so proud of them and loved when they came to visit. Nurses would say she showed them pictures and talked of them often. We'd often hear, "You must be so-and-so, I've heard so much about you." Covid-19 limited our time together in the last year and a half and it was so hard to be apart. We tried to keep in touch via Grandpad and phone calls but it just wasn't the same as hugging her grandkids in person.

Sharon passed away at West River Health Services after a short battle with pneumonia and other health complications. We miss her so much already but take comfort that she is no longer suffering and is now walking without pain, probably planting a flower bed full of beautiful flowers.

Grateful for having shared her life are her husband of 56 years, Phillip of Hettinger, ND;, daughters, Nancy Ellingson, Hettinger, ND; and Becky (Dan) Block, Lemmon, SD; and son Brian (Tressie) Ellingson, rural Perkins County, SD;  brothers Alan (Pam) Sanford, Gardner, KS; Bruce (Joanne) Sanford, Great Falls, MT; Rick (Shari) Sanford, Newell, SD;  sister-in-law, Diane Sanford, Reeder, ND; sisters-in-law, Bev Byers, Kathy (Zack) Jones and brothers-in-law, Darwin Huiner and Joe Materna. She is survived by her grandchildren, Tucker and Sydney Ellingson; Hailey and Sonny Block, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Gordon and Hilda; father and mother-in-law, Elvin and Flora Ellingson, sisters-in-law, Judy Materna and Cleo Huiner; and brother-in-law, Tex Byers.