Sharon Neugebauer, 76, of Mitchell, SD, died Wednesday, October 14, 2020 at her home in Mitchell. Funeral arrangements are pending under the direction of Bittner Funeral Chapel.
Sharon Marie (Thill) Neugebauer was born on July 24, 1944 to Matthew and Virginia (Lavonne) Thill in Mitchell, SD.
Sharon grew up on a farm southwest of Mount Vernon and attended country school. She was the third child and the oldest girl in the family. Helping take care of her siblings and working on the farm gave her lots of responsibility at a young age. She worked hard and learned how to do many things by the time she was 10 years old. As she said many times she had no interest in being a kid, and she had no regrets from it. By being the strong person it made her and preparing her for her life ahead. It also made her much closer with her siblings because she became a second mom to them.
On October 9 ,1961 she married Gene Neugebauer. They farmed on his family’s farm west of Dimock with his parents George and Hilda. George already 68 years old welcomed her to the farm with open arms and they became very close. In the years to come she also became very close to Genes sister Ethel. She looked up to her like the older sister she never had. George and Gene were hard workers and Sharon was there working right beside them. That was on top of cooking ,canning, raising chickens , and raising their two children. In 1968 a fire destroyed their home and lost everything but the clothes they were wearing. They later built a house in Dimock that she drew up and designed. After that they moved to Mitchell and then to Sioux Falls to be closer to their grandson Michael. In 2000 they moved back to Mitchell where she started working for James Valley nursery in the greenhouse and also as their florist. After Genes health started to fail she retired from the nursery and cared for him until his death in 2011. She then volunteered at her Church ,The Holy Spirit Catholic Church where she helped cook and serve meals after funerals . She made new friends volunteering at church and soon the group of friends were going to dinner every Sunday after church. She always looked forward to spending time with them and answering there questions they had.
Sharon had many special gifts. She was a wonderful mother, an amazing cook, had a mechanical mind that could fix just about anything , She had a very green thumb and loved to garden, she had a great eye for color and design , a memory like very few have. Until her last day she could have told you every birthday and anniversary for 5 generations of people in both the Thill and Neugebauer’s family trees , she was a great listener to all of her friends and family. Sharon had a way of making you feel better Just by talking to her, but no matter what life dealt her she always kept her strong faith in God.
Sharon is survived by her daughter, Teresa (Mike) Meier of Sioux Falls; son, Clint (Tami) Neugebauer of Mitchell; grandson, Michael (special friend Pegge Vandervelde) Meier; siblings, Larry (Janet) Thill of Mitchell, Marvin Thill of Portland, OR, Diane (Bill) Neugebauer of Dimock, Marilyn (Brad) Hills of Crooks, Dennis (Peggy) Thill of Mitchell, and Barbara (Jim) McFarland of Cadwell, TX.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Gene; parents, Matt and Lavonne; parents-in-law, George and Hilda Neugebauer; sisters-in-law, Ethel (Calvin) Marquardt, Evelyn (Carly) Marquardt, Claudia Thill; and several nieces and nephews.
