Sharon Darlene Durrant Adams of Ephrata, WA

Sharon Darlene Durrant Adams was born December 22, 1945 in Salt Lake City, Utah and graduated from South High School in 1964. She saw many technological advances over her 80 years having worked as a telephone switchboard operator, stenographer, and secretary. She met and married Ken Adams through his Aunt Helen Seacrest whom she worked with at Primary Children’s hospital and they married September 5, 1967. She became the mother of 2 boys and 2 girls and got a bonus daughter after her sister died and left a daughter. She was the mom every kid wished they had and the perfect wife to an incredibly ambitious man. They almost made 60 years together.

Darlene was an avid photographer and left many photo albums and hundreds of thousands of digital files. She even developed her own film and worked at the Big Bend Photo Journalist Lab for a while. She loved taking photos and documenting her life with her family. The family soon tired of posing for photos, however, but we continued to do it because we loved her so much and she found such joy. After the iPhone was invented it opened the door to sharing photos and she loved seeing what was happening with her friends and family on social media. What a full life she lived raising children and traveling the world and taking pictures the entire way.

Darlene also loved making her home, herself, and her friends beautiful. For her second act in her 40s she finished her applied science degree and attended cosmetology school and opened a salon in the converted garage of her home. Darlene’s Cuts and Styles or as we called it “Darlene’s Whack and Yack”. All were welcome and everybody was a friend. She knew what everyone was going through and helped as much as she could buying the crafts, odds, and ends of people needing money. She had a talent for beauty and listening and making everyone feel seen and heard and loved.

She was an avid reader and her favorite book was The Book of Mormon. She tried to share it with everyone she met because it had made such a good and lasting impact on her life. Her incredible testimony of Jesus Christ helped her balance her work, family and charity throughout her life. She felt the protection and direction of the hand of God. She regretted not serving a formal mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but knew every member was a missionary. She served in many callings over her life and was able to serve as a temple worker for 20 years in the Columbia River and Moses Lake Temples.

Her final fight was with cancer and she is very grateful to her caregivers and especially Lily and Debbie at Assured Hospice.

Darlene was preceded in death by her parents: Lois and James Boyer Durrant and her siblings: Lloyd Eldredge, Gene Thomas Durrant, James Kelly Durrant and Shelley Durrant. She is survived by her husband, Kenneth Paul Adams and her children: Kendra & (Mark) Empey, James K & (Melissa) Adams, Gina Colver-Lawson & Tim Lawson, J Brett & (Amy) Adams and Michelle L Adams. She has 23 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

A funeral and celebration of her life will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ephrata, Washington on March 24 at 11 am.