Sharon Jasper

Sharon's Story - with Dave co-authoring.   Born June 2, 1940 to a Roland and Carine Packard  in Minneapolis.  Roland, her father was born in Leeds, South Dakota, worked at the Tennant corporation as a office manager, and then became an entrepreneur starting his own a tax preparation service for small businesses.  Before small computers, he developed a sort of workbook the business owner would journal their checks. He had a small printer in the basement where he would make up the worksheets. From these sheets he prepared their taxes. He was preparing to retire when he died fairly young at 66 of heart-attack. Carine who lived a few years longer loved to fish, listening to the Twins on the radio, the Packers, playing cards. feeding squirrels by hand, had a maroon sporty Corvaire, skipped 3rd grade and was a first generation American from Sweden.  Sharon has three brothers Bob, Tom and Jim- with oh so interesting stories are all still actively contributing and living life the fullest.

Sharon was quite a dancer and gymnast.    The 'was' is fairly recent, I believe it has only been 15 years since her last ballet class and we all recall in her 40s when she did an aerial in our living room.    Other talents include playing the organ - which is really wild if you only play the piano, because not only do you have your right and left hands doing usually different melodies you have your right and left feet too;  it is like dancing.  5' 10" and about 106 lbs when she married she was on a diet to gain weight into her 20s  (can you imagine?) 

Susan Jasper, her future husband, David's sister who was Sharon's friend at Holy Angels set up a blind date for the prom.  Dad had already graduated from De Lasalle  High School and was attending St. Johns University. It was love at first sight,  at least for David, because Sharon needed glasses but she didn't want to wear them on this date. It was a number of dates before David came to realize she need glasses,  still unwilling to wear them her folks finally broke down and bought her contact lenses. She still has never worn glasses.

They dated for two years while my Mom attended St. Teresa's in Winona studying the sciences.   Dad planned the big proposal with a special dinner at the Lexington and then proposed at the Minnehaha Falls.

Married on August 27, 1960 colors were turquoise blue, my Mom's favorite color.    Dad was late or very close to late to the wedding as a last minute project to paint the car consumed him.   They went camping for a honeymoon in Canada,  10 months later first child, Paul was born, then 17 months later Teresa, then moved to Washington DC for job and Chris was born 21 months later, then moved back to MN and 17 months later Dan was born, then 19 months later Becky was born, then 16 months later Rachel was born.  Six children by the time my Mom was 28. WOW!  


She mostly worked at home, cooking, cleaning, laundry and taking care of our dog Cane that we all said we would take care of.   At one point she worked part-time as a school lunch lady where I remember her wowing my friends at poplar bridge elementary school with jokes like 'Secretary at major corporation answering the phone "I.B.M., may I help you"  caller responds "I do too but I don't brag about it"' 

She kept so busy with our lives,  we had so many activities that she put on a 100 miles just on Mondays carting us around from dancing, piano, school, track, plays the list goes on.  She even entertained my Dad's business colleagues at Control Data with fancy dinners  (and we would give dance and magic show performances).

I suspect religion was always a part of her life, but she went back to school to major in Religion at St. Kates and is very active in every Catholic Church community where she belongs.  She even helped start one, Pax Christi in Eden Prairie.  I think her praying really pays off, she has a directly line to heaven.  If you have a problem to solve, get her on it - I highly recommend it.   People who have moved on to the next life, visit her in her dreams.  She has some cool stories.     

Lately, besides having Grandma Day where she has the grandchildren for a day where she takes the youngest of 14 children for  a fun day with Grandma once a week.  She loves to garden and read, volunteer at the food shelf and church, visit the sick and elderly church and knits scarves for the homeless.