Sharon R. (Duane) Fedirka

Sharon Ruth Fedirka, 79, died Thursday, September 18, three weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Sharon was born in Buffalo, NY on June 16, 1946, to Frank and Ruth (Scherr) Duane. The middle child of three and the only girl, Sharon learned to cook from her mother. Her father and brothers taught her how to fight and fix things. After graduating high school in 1964, Sharon attended Mildred Elley, where she earned an executive secretarial certificate. In 1967, Sharon’s life changed forever when she met Roman Fedirka at the Swiss Inn bar near Albany, NY. Though Sharon laughed at his name, she gave Roman her number. When Sharon told Roman he shouldn’t expect her to be waiting for him after his four years in the Air Force, he proposed and they were married in 1968. Always a romantic, Roman proposed while driving on the New York State Thruway.

After their wedding, Sharon and Roman moved to Wichita Falls, TX, where Roman started in the Air Force. They honeymooned in California a year later. Roman delighted in telling people they met on the trip that he and a very pregnant Sharon were honeymooners. From Texas, Sharon and Roman moved to Lowell, MA, where son John was born in December, 1969. A second son, William (Bill), followed seventeen months later.

After Massachusetts, Sharon made a home for her family in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Ohio. While in Loveland, OH, Sharon opened the Floral Basket flower and gift shop in the Eastgate Mall. She ran the shop for six years, teaching her sons how to dye carnations and make corsages and sometimes giving them rolls of quarters to spend at the mall’s arcade just to get them out of her hair. In 1986, Sharon, Roman, and the boys moved to Malvern, PA, where she lived until her death. In Malvern, Sharon worked as a paralegal, real estate agent, and title agent. A member of Hershey’s Mill Golf Club for more than 25 years, Sharon enjoyed playing golf, especially when she beat Roman. She also liked playing cards and the slots with her girlfriends. Sharon was always up for an adventure. She and Roman traveled the world, visiting much of Europe, the Caribbean, and North and South America. She made a mean liver and onions, a wicked lasagna, and could load a dishwasher with the precision of a Scandinavian architect.

Family was important to Sharon. For 10 years, she hosted the July 4th Fedirka-Makar reunion, which brought together family and friends from across the country for a weekend of basketball, billiards, and booze. For the event, Sharon made pans of perogies and kapusta and a bed for anyone who needed a place to stay. Thanksgiving and Christmas always included dinner with extended family in Allentown, PA and Eatontown, NJ. Sharon even took the heat when, one Thanksgiving, neighbors called the police to report Sharon and teenage family members  breaking and entering. (They were walking off dinner by touring partially constructed homes in the neighborhood.) This earned Sharon the nickname Ma Barker.

Sharon was a proud grandma to William and Carl. She showed her love by building Legos, playing games with them on her iPad, and letting them know when they were about to do something stupid. To her nieces and nephews, Aunt Sharon generously shared her knowledge. She was the one to call if you had a cooking question or needed to repair a toilet. For Sharon, family included dogs, and over the years, she made a place in her home and heart for Snoopy, Samantha, and, most recently, Dakota. 

Sharon was predeceased by her mother, Ruth, her father, Frank, and her younger brother, Bob. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Roman, sons, John (Dianna) of Boston, MA, and Bill (Sarah) of Findlay, OH, and grandsons, William and Carl, also of Findlay. Sharon is also survived by her brother Thomas Duane (Miami, FL), brothers and sisters-in-law Paul (Terry) Fedirka (Lombard, IL) and Kay (Ron) Trautvetter (Salina, KS) along with nieces and nephews Christine Beattie, Sherry (Rich) Romano, Thomas (Anne) Duane, Michael (Valerie) Duane, Kelly (Elliot) Zeitoune, Jeff (Amy) Trautvetter, Heather (Tony) Wisker, Hillary (Noah) Schroer, Allison (Andrew) Horn, Melanie (Joe) Peters, as well as sister-like-cousin Christine Waitt and son-like-cousin Raj Tewari (Michael Gray), and numerous great nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are invited to a Celebration of Life 3-5:00 P.M. on Sunday, October 12, 2025 at the Hershey's Mill Golf Club, 401 Chandler Drive, West Chester, PA  19380.