Laconia----Olive Lee (Sharp) Hart passed from this life into the realm of Spirit on September 30, 2015, surrounded by the love of her family and many extended family and friends.
Born Olive Jeanne, Lee was the oldest daughter of Carol Johnstone Sharp and Myron Jacob Sharp on May 24, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA. She grew up in Haddonfield, NJ, attended a Quaker elementary school, and graduated from Haddonfield High School. At age 11 years old, she was among nine children chosen for the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music to play with the Philadelphia Orchestra in a concert for children. During World War II, Lee was a member of the Army Air Corps Ground Observer Corp, spotting planes on weekend shifts, and teaching an evening class to recognize make and model of friendly and enemy planes.
Because she was an avid proponent of Liberal Arts, Lee furthered her education at Denison University in Granville, OH, majoring in citizenship. There, she was the president of the Mortar Board, a national honor society for scholarship, leadership, and service. During her junior year at Denison, she met her future husband David B. Hart, and in 1952, married her college sweetheart. They honeymooned in Meredith, NH, and eventually, settled in Granby, CT, where they raised their three children and lived for 42 years.
While in Granby, she served as chairman of a 3-town Role Study of the Public Schools, funded by the Ford Foundation in the late 1950’s. Lee served on a Land Use Study for the town of Granby, and on its Economic Development Committee, as well as being a member of the state-mandated committee to improve Quality and Diversity in the state’s public schools.
Along with politics and civic engagement, one of her great interests and passions was peace and social justice work. Serving 27 years as a Realtor in the Hartford, CT area, she was proud of her role as a teacher and leader in ethics and fair housing law. Lee served as the director of the Greater Hartford Board of Realtors, and received the Realtor Associate of the Year award in 1984, as well as a citation from United States Housing and Urban Development for activities on behalf of fair and open housing.
She and Dave, along with their three children, also made a long-term commitment to Project Concern, where minority children from Hartford’s inner city were paired with families in outlying suburbs so they could attend school and experience an expanded life that would not have been available to them otherwise. The Hart family today still includes our honorary brother and son, Ronald C. Brown.
For several years, Lee chaired the Peace and Justice committee at the UCC Sanbornton, where she and Dave have been active members for sixteen years. That focus included environment justice, and in 2010, Lee lead a break-out session on “Going Green at Church” as part of UCC New England Women’s Celebration, held that year in Burlington, VT. Lee was involved in and supported several organizations working for economic and social justice, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Americans for Civil Liberties Union, and Common Cause.
Along with having her family gathered together, Lee adored swimming, especially in her beloved Lake Kanasatka. Another life-long passion was music; her own mother was a pianist, organist, and piano teacher, and Lee followed in her footsteps to teach piano and sing in her church choirs in Granby, CT and Sanbornton, NH. Lee’s deep faith was nurtured first in the American Baptist tradition, and later in the United Church of Christ, Congregational.
Lee leaves her husband of 63 years, David, of Taylor Community in Laconia, NH; son Bruce and wife Jill; daughter Carol Hart and husband Malik Haig; son Ed and wife Laura; her honorary son, Ron Brown; granddaughters Megan Hart and Stephanie Krist and husband Nate; sister, Retie Johnson; and several special nieces, nephews and cousins.
Lee was pre-deceased by her parents and her brother, Myron Johnstone Sharp.
Memorial contributions can be made to either church, or to any of the organizations that were close to Lee’s heart
Memorial services will be held at Sanbornton (NH) UCC, 21 Meeting House Road on Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 2pm and at First Congregational Church in Granby, CT, 219 N. Granby Road on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 2pm.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH is assisting with arrangements. For more information and to view an online guest book please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.