Sharon "Shari" (Matson) Ellis

Sharon “Shari” Ellis, of Elk River was a caring wife, mother, and grandmother who left this world suddenly to be with God at her home on November 15, 2022, at age 79.

She was born to Lewis and Agnes Matson on December 14, 1942, in rural Story City, Iowa. After graduating from high school, Sharon went to what is now the University of Northern Iowa where she received her bachelor’s degree in Art and became a teacher. During this time, she met her husband, Jack Ellis whom she married in 1966. They were blessed with two children Blake and Keena, and further blessed with their marriages and six grandkids.

Sharon had many passions that she all kept going simultaneously. She had a great talent in art and enjoyed making all kinds of crafts and scrapbooks. The scrapbooks and crafts that she made for others are deeply cherished. She loved going to Minnesota Gopher basketball games with Jack every winter.

She caught the travel bug early in her marriage and became a travel agent in the mid-1980’s, eventually owning her own travel agency in Ramsey, MN. Sharon visited all 50 states, 52 countries and all seven continents, with several trips to visit her relatives in Norway. Sharon kept it all going with her organizational skills, which she used to volunteer at several organizations in New Prague, MN and recently working with the Tanzanian Student Scholarship Program through her church. However, the most important thing for Sharon was her family. She deeply cared for her family and did all that she could to help whenever possible.

Sharon is preceded in death by her parents, Agnes and Lewis Matson; brothers-in-law, Paul Whipple and Don Templeton.

Sharon is survived by her husband of 56+ years, Jack; children, Blake (Heather) Ellis and Keena (Andy) Becker; grandchildren, Megan, Gretchen, Breyden, Grant, Dawson, and Madison; siblings, Lola Templeton, Marilyn Whipple, and Duane (Sharon) Matson; other family and friends.

A Celebration of Sharon’s life will be at 2:00PM on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, at Central Lutheran Church, 1103 School Street NW, Elk River, with visitation starting at 12:30PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to either Central Lutheran Church in Elk River, MN (https://clcelkriver.org) or the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org).

The Celebration of Life will be streamed live at 2:00 PM and can be accessed by pressing the blue button below this obituary.

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