Sharron Jean O'Day

Dr. Sharron Jean O’Day (Rosenkoetter), beautiful in every way possible, passed from this life on April 13, 2014 in Sugar Land, TX. The total of her sixty-four years were filled with laughter, love, generosity, intelligence, strength and God. She was the epitome of a beautiful soul and she will be sorely missed by all. She joins her parents and many other family and friends in Heaven; she is one of their newest angels.

Sharron was born to Sarah and Herbert Rosenkoetter on December 10, 1949 in St. Louis, MO. Her older brother Rick was born four years earlier. Her schooling was in St. Louis and she graduated from Incarnate Word Academy, an all-girls Catholic highschool, in 1967. During this time, she met her future husband, Dennis O’Day, who moved to St. Louis from Fargo, ND in the summer of 1964. That winter, Sharron met Dennis while out with friends at the Strike and Spare bowling alley; she was fifteen and he was sixteen. They began dating, and soon after Dennis was introduced to Sarah and Herb. Luckily Dennis was not shy as Sharron’s Italian-German heritage was very strong. After many Italian dinners, late-night phone calls and family meetings Sharron was proposed to by Dennis in October of 1967. Soon after, Dennis had to leave to begin his career in the U.S. AirForce. Meanwhile, Sharron was a student at DePaul School of Nursing in St. Louis, which began her life-long career in human medicine. March 14, 1969 Sharron wed Dennis at St. Gregory’s Catholic Church in St. Ann, MO (near St. Louis). That following April of 1970, she graduated nursing school and Dennis returned from a one-year tour of Vietnam that May.

Sharron immediately regretted her decision to marry Dennis and soon after they divorced. JUST KIDDING. After her nursing school graduation, she began working as an operating room nurse at DePaul Hospital while Dennis began his Criminal Justice studies at the University of Missouri branch in St. Louis. In January of 1975, several months after Dennis’ graduation, the couple moved to Norfolk, VA where Dennis began his career as a Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Sharron went on to achieve her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at Old Dominion University, graduating in May of 1978. She then began to teach nursing at DePaul School of Nursing, located in Norfolk. In the beginning of 1980, Sharron and Dennis moved to Houston, TX to be near Dennis’ father, who was in ill health. Dennis began a career as a Special Agent with NASA and Sharron worked as an operating room nurse at Clear Lake Hospital.

Just when Sharron and Dennis were thinking of adoption, their first born, John Herbert O’Day, arrived January 28, 1982. Sharron decided after years of nursing that she wanted to become a physician. She was accepted into the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (now North Texas University) in Fort Worth, TX and Dennis continued his work as a Special Agent with Defense Criminal Investigative Service. During this time, she gave birth to Sarah Bernice O’Day on February 7, 1986. After her graduation in 1987, she began a one-year internship in Port Arthur, TX at Groves Hospital as a family practitioner. The family moved back to Houston in 1988, at which point Sharron opened her medical practice. She continued at this venue until her diagnosis with Stage 4 breast cancer in 1997, at which point she sold her practice to fight this disease. She underwent chemotherapy and a mastectomy during her two-year battle. Thereafter Sharron worked at various medical facilities throughout the Houston area with different doctors. Many of those instances had her providing medical care to families who could not afford medical care otherwise.

In 2008, Sharron moved back to St. Louis to begin working for the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital. Soon after, she was joined by Dennis. John at this time was in the U.S. Army and Sarah was about to begin her Masters program in Epidemiology in Houston. After two and half years in St. Louis, Sharron and Dennis moved to Temple, TX to be close to Sarah who had just begun her veterinary school career at Texas A&M. While in Temple, Sharron continued her work with the VA Hospital. In May of 2012, Sharron was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. After many more months of chemotherapy, she went into periods of remission. In August 2013, she underwent an adrenalectomy to remove an adrenal gland which showed cancer cells. Just after Christmas, she was informed her cancer had returned. She once again began chemotherapy. During this time, in early January of 2014, she suffered two pulmonary thromboembolisms (blood clots) while Dennis was at another hospital with the flu. They both eventually recovered from these conditions. When she went in to receive her third treatment of chemotherapy in late March a CT and later a MRI (imaging techniques) were performed. These showed Sharron’s cancer had moved to her brain. Initially, Sharron was diagnosed with a small brain tumor and was scheduled to have it treated via laser therapy. During this time she was at West Houston Medical Center, her regular hospital. She was discharged Thursday April 3 and taken to an appointment to have her worked up for the laser procedure, which was scheduled for Monday April 7. The morning of Friday April 4, Sharron likely suffered from a seizure and was taken to the nearest hospital, St. Luke’s in Sugar Land, TX. The MRI performed at the previous day’s appointment was read and it was determined that Sharron had more brain involvement than previously thought. This meant she could no longer receive the laser therapy, as it could not reach all her affected areas. While at the St. Luke’s ICU, Sharron was unconscious and kept on a breathing ventilator to assist her breathing. She also received medications to keep her comfortable. After it was definitively determined that the cancer had spread throughout her brain, and further treatment would only diminish her quality of life, all medical care was discontinued, per Sharron’s wishes, and she passed very quickly and peacefully at 12:15PM on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014.

Sharron’s life was filled with so many adventures and memories. Most were good, however, she suffered from cancer more than she deserved, but she only showed enormous courage with each battle. She was a doting and devoted mother to her kids, and was so active in their lives, many times having them, and Dennis, accompany her at work, especially when they were young. She loved going on family trips and reunions, and was always the first to say ‘yes’. At each point in her life, she made sincere and lasting friendships, which continued into her medical career. Sharron was such a people person, loving everyone and being loved in return. She was physician to all and was an amazing doctor, truly putting her patients first. She serviced many poorer populations and even went on a medical mission to El Salvador. She loved having festive get togethers with family and friends, and was a great jokester and full of witty remarks. She was also very active in her church, St. Thomas Aquinas. Sharron loved the women’s retreats the church sponsored, and would always come back feeling spiritually renewed and awed.

Dennis always joked with Sharron that she would be late to her own funeral. Anyone who knew her could attest to this. Sharron was rarely on time for anything, always needing to do ‘just one more thing’ before she left to go anywhere. She was probably one of the first people to own a cell phone, but was always behind on answering calls and texts. She was also a master procrastinator, starting fun projects that usually only got partially completed. Sharron loved animals, and was always supportive of her children’s love for them too, never saying ‘no’. She was so happy with how her kids had progressed, Sarah preparing to graduate veterinary school and begin a career with the U.S. Army in the Veterinary Corps, and John working his way up to a promotion at his job with Comcast in Colorado Springs, CO. She was also ecstatic when she was introduced to her granddaughter Makayla in the summer of 2012 and when John became engaged to Makayla’s mother, Sarah Tamlin, soon thereafter. She adored Makayla and loved buying and making her many clothes and toys.

To sum Sharron up is an impossible task, and this obituary serves as a meager attempt at that. However, let it be known that she will never be forgotten, as she encompasses so many memories in her family and friends hearts.

A special and grateful thank you to all her friends and family who sent her many cards, flowers, gifts, phone calls, etc during all her times in the hospital and during her times of prolonged bedrest at home during chemotherapy treatments. Her oncologist, Dr. Jabboury, was more of a family member to her than any other doctor and with the grace of God, allowed us to have seventeen more years with her when she beat breast cancer. His staff was always there for Sharron, and were so compassionate. The staff at St. Luke’s, especially her nurses, were absolutely wonderful and took great care of her in her last days.

A viewing and vigil service will be held Easter Monday, April 21, from 5-8PM at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Sugar Land, TX. Her funeral service will be Tuesday, April 22, at 10AM, also at St. Thomas Aquinas.