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Obituary
Sharon Diane Perry passed away on July 10, 2015 of
complications from a recent surgery. She was
sixty-six years old. Sharon was a woman of uncommon
intellect, sharp wit, and deep humility whose
passions for science and public service found their
perfect outlet in her work as an epidemiologist in
underserved communities throughout the world.
Sharon was born on March 7, 1949 in Pasadena,
California to Jerolane (Jere) Matteson and James
Miller. When James died tragically as a result of
injuries sustained in the Second World War, Jere
moved east to Lincoln, Illinois, where she met and
married Tom Perry. Tom adopted Sharon and her
younger brother, Jim (Jupie), and brothers; Ted and
Robert (Boe) soon followed.
Sharon graduated from Lincoln High School in 1967
and married her high school boyfriend, Scott
Moriearty, the following year. They settled in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, and their daughter, Perry,
was born in 1969. Sharon earned an A.B. from Boston
University in 1973 and a Master’s in Education and
Public Policy from Harvard in 1974. Over the next
sixteen years, Sharon channeled an emerging
commitment to human service work into research and
health policy positions with the Massachusetts
Association for Retarded Citizens and the
Massachusetts Office of Handicapped Affairs. She
also found time to watch numerous soccer and
lacrosse games, tromp through the forests of Maine
and Vermont, experiment with all forms of gourmet
cuisine, type English papers and history reports,
play countless games of Scrabble, and bird-watch on
the shores of Plum Island.
Sharon’s career took a critical turn in 1990 when
she relocated to Southern California to pursue a
graduate degree in science. She obtained her PhD in
epidemiology from the University of California-Sand
Diego in 1999 and a post-doctorate degree in
infectious diseases from Stanford in 2006.
In every sense, Sharon found her calling as an
epidemiologist. Shortly after obtaining her PhD,
Sharon became the principal investigator on a
project to quantify and help alleviate HIV
transmission within the homeless community in San
Francisco, and in 2002, accepted a position as a
senior research assistant at Stanford to help
develop research on emerging diagnostics for
tuberculosis. In 2007, Sharon became involved
in one of the projects of which she was proudest;
the Stanford-North Korea Tuberculosis Diagnostics
Project. Through this project, a joint effort
between Stanford Medical School and the Department of
Political Science, Sharon worked with the North
Korean Ministry of Health to create the country’s
first modern tuberculosis lab. Sharon’s “vison and
passion helped make an impossible project a
reality,” her friend and collaborator writes, “and
build trust and strong relationships between sworn
enemies along the way.” Sharon also found great
personal and professional joy in her work as
director and scientific coordinator for the Step
Forward Initiative, a foundation that undertakes
projects throughout the world to address the unmet
medical needs of underserved populations.
In 2012, Sharon joined Medicins Sans Frontieres
(Doctors Without Borders) as a Mission
Epidemiologist in Lilongwe, Malawi. There began her
love affair with the African continent, which lasted
until her death. In Malawi, and during her
subsequent mission in Cape Town, South Africa,
Sharon combined operational research with field
support in numerous African countries. Sharon was
utterly devoted to her work. Clad in cargo pants,
florescent socks, sandals and her ever-present fanny
pack, Sharon would spend countless hours at her
laptop, her foot bouncing to the rhythm of her
thoughts. She “would describe herself as an
epidemiologist by necessity,” her colleagues as MSF
in South Africa write, “dedicated to the process of
supporting the evidence-basis of humanitarian
endeavors.” |
One of Sharon’s greatest gifts was her rapport with young
children. She “had a natural ability to talk with children
rather than down to them,” a friend and MSF colleague
observed in the days after her death. Her nieces, nephews
and grandchildren will sorely miss her munificence,
indulgence and colorful stories. Sharon’s quirky sense of
humor was also well-know, as was her love of the piano, any
form of chocolate, horror movies, People magazine, facial
lotions, crossword puzzles and closing her day with a single
Amstel Light.
Sharon was preceded in death by her parents, Jere and Tom
Perry, and her brother Boe Perry. She is survived by her
daughter, Perry Moriearty, son-in-law, Kyle Hofmann, and
grandchildren, Mia and Rowan, who will do all they can to
carry forward her legacy of virtuosity and service; her
brother and lifelong best friend, Jupie, whose love and care
for her throughout her life, and especially during her final
years, were truly boundless; her brother, Ted, in whom
Sharon saw her father’s gentle and loving spirit live on;
her former husband, Scott Moriearty, whose friendship and
support during her final years were invaluable, Jupie’s
partner and Sharon’s friend, Colleen Bush; nieces Katelin,
Amanda and Sarah, nephews Matteson, Tyler, Robbie, Patrick,
Chris and Steven; and many dear friends and colleagues.
A memorial service will be held in Palo Alto, California in
November. |
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