Sharon Kay (Bolin) Russell

Sharon Kay (Bolin) Russell, 73, wife of Charles M. Russell, went to be with her Savior, Jesus Christ, on Thursday, April 21, 2022. Sharon passed away at her home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina due to an untreatable medical condition that had progressed in recent months. She was surrounded by her loving husband, daughter, and sister when she went to be with her Lord.  

Sharon was born in 1948 and grew up in the town of West Frankfort, Illinois with her parents, Ed and Kathryn Bolin, and her younger siblings, Don Bolin and Mary Susan (Bolin) Gibson. From her earliest years she knew that she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. One of her parents’ favorite stories to tell was of Sharon as a three-year-old riding her tricycle down the driveway asking them to say “there goes that girl to school.” After graduating from West Frankfort High School in 1966, Sharon pursued her dream to become a teacher by attending Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIU-C) and earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in just 3 years. She later earned a master’s degree in special education from William and Mary University.

Sharon and Charles grew up in the same town and started dating after she graduated from high school. They were married in July of 1968 and began their life as an Air Force family after they both graduated from SIU-C. The Air Force took them from Illinois to Missouri to South Carolina to Maine to Arkansas to Virginia back to Illinois to Washington State to Nebraska to South Korea back to Illinois again before finally settling in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 1992 for post Air Force life. During those adventures Sharon taught all grade levels from kindergarten through high school, served as a special education teacher for multiple schools, and was named Teacher of the Year on three occasions in different school systems. She retired in 2010 as a Language Arts teacher in the Horry County School District in South Carolina after 37 years of teaching. Even in retirement her passion for teaching continued, and she frequently served as a volunteer at Christian Academy, where her daughter, Melinda, teaches.

Sharon was blessed to have been born into a family of life-long St Louis Cardinals fans, and one of her favorite things to do was to watch the mighty Cardinals play. She also loved to sing, play the piano, spend time with her family (and cook everyone their favorites), watch her grandkids play sports, visit with dear friends, go for walks with her husband, participate in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), and spend Sundays watching her nephews and nieces lead worship services across the country online. Sharon’s incredible love for her family and friends is hard to capture with words, but everyone who knew her well experienced it. Whether it was cooking a sour cream raisin pie (who eats that?) for her brother-in-law because that was his favorite or simply being kind to Brewers and Cubs fans (who are not easy to love), Sharon’s love language was selflessly serving others. She often would say to friends and family, “I’m so glad that you are ours.” We are so thankful that she was ours!

Sharon was preceded in passing by her parents, Ed and Kathryn Bolin, her brother, Don Bolin, and her niece, Molly Bolin. She is survived by her husband, Charles, her son and daughter-in law, Stephen and Christa Russell, her daughter, Melinda (Russell) Haldi, her grandchildren, Gabriel, Kaelyn, Abigail, Kyleigh, and Kara, her sister and brother-in-law, Mary Susan (Bolin) and Harry Gibson, her sister-in-law, Jeanne (Dobkins) Bolin, her nephews and nieces, Alison, Jake, Kate, Laura, Meredith, Noah, Ollie, Peter, Joe, Ben, Joy, John, David, Daniel, and Faith, and a joyous multitude of grand-nephews and grand-nieces.

Sharon’s family will receive friends from 6:00 – 8:00 PM, Friday, April 29, 2022, at McMillan-Small Funeral Home, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Funeral services will be 9:00 AM, Saturday, April 30, 2022, at Ocean View Baptist Church, Myrtle Beach, SC.  Click, Ocean View Baptist Church to view a livestream of the funeral service.  Burial will follow at Ocean Woods Memorial Cemetery, Myrtle Beach, SC.

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