Sharon Lee Hanson Giesler Obituary (1943 - 2018)

Sharon Lee Hanson Giesler was born on September 3rd, 1943 in Rochester, Minnesota to her father Lavern and mother Helen Hanson. She grew up in Chatfield, Minnesota with her sisters. She graduated from Chatfield High School. She then traded in, as she stated, her "poor farm kid life" for a city girl and joined the army. Sharon received basic training at Fort Mclellan, AL in January 1963. In April 1963, she was stationed at Ft. Gordon, GA for training in MOS 72B20, Teletype Operator. In June 1963 she was at her first duty station, Ft. Sheridan, IL which is north of Chicago. She worked her MOS in the basement of one of numerous buildings on the base. In September 1963 she was transferred to Fifth Army Headquarters, located on Hyde Park Blvd on the south side of Chicago. She worked her MOS in the basement of the building, which had been used as a hospital in WWII. Since there were no barracks for enlisted personnel, they lived only a short walk to the headquarters. She stayed at this post until December 1965 where she was honorably discharged. Sharon stated, "being in the military gave a poor farm girl the opportunity to learn job skills and provided an education that has helped me throughout my life. I got to see a different part of the world and other cultures, especially being in Chicago. I served during the Vietnam conflict. In Chicago, I remember seeing demonstrators protesting the war. It made me angry to see people burn the flag and yell obscenities. I did not serve in a war zone but I still feel that others and myself were an important part of that era and the work we did was important." After leaving the military, Sharon took a secretary job in Chicago. She married Norman Giesler in 1968 and they later divorced. Sharon had her first child, Shirley, on June 11, 1969. Her second daughter Mary on March 17th, 1971. And she had her son Jason on November 21, 1973. By this point, Sharon was living in Wymore, Nebraska. During her time there, she worked at Dempster's and was a social worker. She volunteered at Rock Creek Station and the Homestead National Monument. She moved to Lincoln in 1989. In Lincoln she worked at the VA and at DEQ. She retired when she was 60 in 2004. From then on, Sharon stayed very busy. She spent a lot of time with her kids and grandkids. Taking them to do things and spoiling them. She volunteered at several different places including the grandkids' schools, specifically as the book fairy, and at the People's City Mission. She stayed active in different military groups and was a very proud veteran. She became very active in church and attended multiple different bible study groups. She also went on several trips to places like Russia, Greece, Peru, many trips back and forth to home, Minnesota, and many other journeys. In June of 2018, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. She had surgery and received one round of chemo. She stayed with family who she was surrounded with when she passed away on October 20, 2018. Sharon is survived by her two children, Mary (Chad) Peterson and Jason (Candy) Giesler. Her grandchildren, Bryant, Seth, Kendon, Chelsea, Andrew, Mackenzie, and Kylie. Her great-grandchildren, Jaxson, Annabelle and Robert. Her sisters, Joanne, Karen and Yvonne. She is preceded in death by her daughter, Shirley. Her parents, Lavern Hanson and Hellen and Gerhard Ferden. And her sister, Linda. Sharon was an amazing woman and put her heart into everything she did. She had a very caring heart and loved her family more than anything. She will be greatly missed. 14250 Schram Road Omaha, NE 68138 5200 R ST Lincoln, NE 68504 14250 Schram Road Omaha, NE 68138