Sharon Margaret Coffee

Sharon Margaret (Schamber) Coffee
1949 - 2024

As a lifelong sports fan, Sharon (Schamber) Coffee saw more than one Hail Mary pass caught in the end zone after a game seemed all but lost. Maybe that's why she was able to hold on to hope and keep smiling through a long and difficult illness that had no cure.

Sharon was born to Eugene and Marguerite Schamber at their home in Missouri Valley, Wyoming. It was a cold November day in 1949, just one day shy of her mother's birthday. The first girl born to the family after three boys, she was a surprise gift to her mother that year. She was soon followed by two more brothers and a sister.

The family lived in a small house on a farm in Missouri Valley throughout Sharon's childhood. They raised much of their own food, gardening and preserving what they grew. She recalled helping with the weeding and canning, as well as the farm animals. Sharon had fond memories of being followed around by the lambs and of playing (and brawling) with her brothers—she could be as feisty as her signature red hair suggested. She attended Morton High School.

Sharon worked for many years as a flagger on road construction sites around the state alongside her husband, Bob (Robert) Coffee, who was a heavy equipment operator. Married in 1977, the couple traveled throughout Wyoming for work before retiring to their property near Shoshoni, affectionately known as the Coffee Grounds. Ironically, she couldn't stand the beverage. Her drink of choice was Wild Cherry Pepsi.

Next to Bob, Sharon's second love was sports. She enjoyed watching football, basketball, baseball, NASCAR, golf, and just about every other sport imaginable. (Hockey might have been the one exception.) She could spot a false start with the best of the NFL referees and knew more about the game than just about anyone. She wasn't here to watch Super Bowl LVIII, but her favorite team pulled off the win in an overtime game she would have loved.

Bowling was the one sport Sharon not only watched on TV but also competed in herself. She bowled in a league for years. When she eventually convinced Bob to join her, it became a favorite weekly pastime for the couple. In 2013, they were the Thermopolis City Champs in Mixed Doubles.

A petite, blue-eyed redhead, Sharon always looked younger than her years. She wasn't much of a talker unless you knew her well, but she was quick to solve problems, quick to smile and smarter than most people knew. Together, she and Bob could fix or figure out a workaround for just about anything. They enjoyed sudoku puzzles and shared a strong sense of humor.

Sharon died on February 8, 2024, at her daughter's home in Colorado, where she had lived for the past year while receiving medical care for a rare illness. She is survived by her husband of 47 years Robert Coffee, of Shoshoni, WY; daughter Sharlene Johnson, of Fort Collins, CO; sons Shawn Riegert, of Sheridan, WY, and Jason Riegert, of Stansbury Park, UT; stepchildren Karrie Dobkins, David Coffee and Dale Coffee, all of Hudson, WY; brothers, Gene Schamber, Jr., of Pinedale, WY; Don Schamber, of Springfield, MO; Terry Schamber, of Shoshoni, WY; and John Schamber, of Casper, WY. She was preceded in death by her parents Eugene and Marguerite Schamber, of Shoshoni, WY; brother Gordon Schamber; and sister Karen Schamber.

A memorial service will be held at Lake View Cemetery in Shoshoni, WY at 1 pm on Saturday, May 4, 2024, followed by a celebration of her life at the Shoshoni Senior Center. Donations in Sharon's memory can be made to the UCHealth Northern Colorado Foundation (uchealthnocofoundation.org) or Pathways Hospice (pathways-care.org).