Longtime Rumsonite Sharon Holt Day passed away on Jan. 7 from an apparent stroke. She was surrounded by her loving family and spent her last hours looking out at the Navesink River from her home in Rumson, where she had lived for nearly 50 years.

“Sharon found time for any effort that served to make a place or a process kinder or more beautiful. She initiated countless small but meaningful projects—whether the preservation of the gazebo at Victory Park for the American Bicentennial or the restoration of the Steinway piano at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School for music recitals that would serve as
inheritances for future generations.”

Born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Sharon grew up playing classical piano and competing in English equitation with her beloved horse, American Major.

She received a Presbyterian liberal arts education and a degree in French from Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA. She was an exchange student in Riesen, Switzerland through the Experiment in International Living, and later would also go on to study at the New England Conservatory.

She married Ben, her husband of 55 years, and together they lived in Wellesley, Massachusetts before moving to Rumson in 1974 where they raised their three children, Lauren, Alexandra, and Jared.

“Sharon was known in the community as a teacher of French and piano, an educator who sought to understand and nurture the inner spirit of every child in her care. She was an expert in the Suzuki method, a pedagogy that combined her love of languages and music, and that was founded on the premise that all learning should be a joy. A lifelong learner herself, Sharon held a particular interest in American history, which she nourished with regular visits to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. She enjoyed artisanal crafts, and continually deepened her knowledge of heritage gardening, of window glazing, and of needlepointing.”

Highly attuned to nature and animals, Sharon certified one of her Golden Retrievers as a therapy and companion dog, and together they would visit patients with dementia as well as children learning to read.

Her husband and children will remember a wise and loving parent and friend who encouraged their respective paths in life. Her daughters will remember a mom who made them dress as figures from history for Halloween so that they could recite “fun facts” while they sheepishly trick-or-treated around the neighborhood. They will also cherish the memory of a mom who joyfully escorted them to amusement parks during the school week well before “mental health days” were the norm.

Her adoring grandsons will remember an avid sports and Pittsburgh Steelers fan, an ever-willing partner in board and card games, an always-ready audience for impromptu performances, and an enchanting reader of stories.

Sharon imbued every act with a sense of love, beauty, learning, and excellence. For her example, her family, friends, and former students are deeply grateful.

— obituary, the Day family via John E. Day Funeral Home

A celebration of her life will be held later this year, when her favorite flowers are in bloom, as an expression of her steadfast belief in the renewal of life and the life everlasting.

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