Sharon Janelle Phillips
November 16, 1944 – September 26, 2025
Sharon Janelle Phillips, passed away on September 26, in Rocks Springs, Wyo., at the age of 80. She was born just outside of Salem New Mexico in her parent’s farm home on November 16, 1944. She was a devoted wife, a cherished mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and a stalwart friend. Her life was a testament to her strength and positive outlook towards a life well lived, even in the face of ailing health in her later years.
A loving wife to her husband Jim Phillips, and a proud mother to her children, Justin Caudill, Gwendi (Jody) Deal, and Janet Stanhope. She was grandmother to Garrett Keller, Wyatt Keller (Taylor), a Randy Marie Madsen (Mat) and Rachell Stanhope, and great-grandmother to Maverick Madsen, and Cora Keller, with the joyful anticipation of one more great-granddaughter, Lainey Keller, soon to join the family. Sharon’s inner strength and passion for family were the cornerstones of her life, and the legacy of her love and tenacity will live on in them.
Those who knew Sharon would describe her as a supporting loving individual with an intelligent mind and an adventurous spirit. She and Jim traveled all over the USA, including several trips to Alaska. She often shared the story of her and Jim’s travels, including her description of their nerve-racking return from the outskirts of New York City following Sept. 11, 2001, with the skies void of airplanes and the panic as people were trying to get out of NYC.
In her youth she was a painter, played the piano, and was very involved in the International Order of the Rainbow Girls. Following her graduation from Hatch Valley High School in Hatch New Mexico, she pursued several different career paths. The job of being the registered agent and bookkeeper of her and her brother’s pecan farm outside of Garfield, New Mexico, was her favorite. Sharon and her two siblings, Douglas and Johnny Lack, had a very trusting and special bond, and she very much enjoyed being able to work with them and the rest of family involved in the farm.
Following the death of her husband in 2013, Sharon moved to Sublette County in 2015, living just west of Boulder, Wyo. This part of the world brought Sharon much joy and wonder. She loved to watch the deer, antelope and moose as they foraged outside her home. And with raptors raising several years of hatchlings in trees near her home, Sharon would revel in the progress as fledglings began to take flight and hunt on their own.
As we bid farewell to Sharon, we celebrate a life well lived, and honor a legacy of love, unwavering strength, which will continue to guide and inspire her family and friends for generations to come. Sharon’s life story is one of passion, strength and intelligence, and proof that dynamite does indeed sometimes come in small packages. She was laid to rest at the Garden of Memories outside of Hatch on October 3.
