Sharon Cottrell Ward

Sharon Cottrell Ward, 87, of Ivins, Utah, passed peacefully on June 7, 2025. She was born on April 28, 1938, in Ogden Utah to Ogilvie Margaret Penrose and Ralph Bragg Cottrell and was raised in Ogden with her twin Sister, Sherry Cottrell Tullis.

Sharon graduated from Ogden High School with honors and attended a year of college at Weber State University. She later graduated Cum Laude from Utah State University in 1970 with a degree in elementary education.

She met her husband, Donnel J Ward at age17, and they were married on September 18, 1957, in the Logan LDS Temple.

They began raising their family in Ely, Nevada, and then later moved to Spanish Fork, Utah, Preston and Malad, Idaho, Price, Utah, and finally settled in St. George Utah in their later years.

Sharon worked as a schoolteacher for 30 years in the Malad, Idaho and Price, Utah areas and received many awards and recognition for her efforts. She was loved by her students and fellow coworkers. She worked with gifted and talented students and was deeply involved in those programs. She also wrote grants for students and tutored terminally ill children. 

She served on a Foster Care Review Board for the State of Utah and made significant contributions.

Genealogy was her passion, and she spent many hours researching her ancestry. She worked alongside her husband as the directors of the Genealogy Library in St. George, Utah.

Her hobbies included knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching and gardening and she was a crack-shot with a rifle. She and her husband enjoyed several backpacking adventures including the Wind Rivers and the Tetons. She was an accomplished seamstress and sewed many articles of clothing for her family, including wedding dresses. She was a very hard worker and spent many hours providing food storage for her family through canning and preserving.

She served in many callings in the Church including Relief Society President and Primary President. Sharon is survived by her husband, Donnel of Ivins, Bruce (Karen) Ward of Oaxaca, Mexico, Julie (Clifford) Daines of Salisbury, NC, Jan Speroni of Leesburg, VA, and Laurie (Joe) Gee of Spring City, Utah, 15 grandchildren and 44 greatgrandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her sister, Sherry. The family would like to thank all those who cared so lovingly for Sharon in her later years.

A viewing will be held on Wednesday, June 18, from 8:30-9:30 AM at the Ivins 8 th Ward at 240 E 1060 S. A brief memorial service will follow from 9:30-11:00 AM. Interment will be in the North Ogden Cemetery at 4:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Primary Children’s Medical Center.