Sharon L. Lichtenberg

February 27, 1947 to June 9, 2025

We are saddened to inform you our mom, Sharon, passed away. But instead of being sad, we want you to remember her how we do and celebrate her life.

Sharon had two daughters with Kerwin Lichtenberg. Kara Hoelzel, the oldest, is married to Zach and has two children, Emma and Owen. They live in Kaukauna, or the north side of Little Chute. Heather Fascitelli, the youngest, is married to Ben and they have one son, Simon. They live in Connecticut. Our parents divorced while we were growing up, but they were friends and would joke with each other at family functions and lament on the phone to one another if we messed something up! Our mom would always ask my dad about his family members, not only because she was curious, but because she cared.

Growing up in Medina, Wisconsin was not easy for our mom, but she made do with what she had. We heard stories of eating lard sandwiches, going down to Perks, where our grandma worked, and of her having few things. But one thing she did have a lot of was family. She was one of ten children. She was actually the youngest of the family. She wasn’t close to everyone due to the age differences, but as she grew older she looked forward to reconnecting with everyone at the family reunions. She would beg us to come, and admittedly we sometimes reluctantly went, but seeing her enjoy her time with family made us happy and it was worth our while.

Our mom was especially close to three of her siblings: Alice, Charlene and Dennis. Growing up we would visit our Aunt Charlene and our mom would sit on the porch with her and catch up. She had a porch swing that we would all sit on for hours. She passed away when we were very young.

Our Uncle Dennis was the second youngest of her siblings, and was married to our Aunt Sheila. They had children close to our ages, so their lives were just as busy as ours. Despite that, we would always get a chance to see him during the holidays. He would joke with my mom and everyone, which was fun to experience. His wife, our Aunt Sheila, was very important to our mom. While Dennis passed away a few years ago, my mom, Aunt Sheila and Aunt Alice would have lunch together often, and my mom was very fond of Sheila. Sheila was easy to talk to and have long conversations with and my mom really looked forward to them.

Today our Aunt Alice is the last of the brothers and sisters, but probably the most important to our mom. The bond they had was unbreakable. Even though they fought like sisters do, our mom loved her to no end. Aunt Alice was the glue for my mom, through good times and bad. They spent nearly every holiday together. She was our mom’s best friend and like a grandma to us. If our mom needed something, Aunt Alice was there, no questions asked, EVERY TIME. We are eternally grateful for what she did for her, and for us. 

When it came to our mom’s livelihood, we could not believe her commitment to work. She worked at Aid Association for Lutherans, now known as Thrivent, for 47 YEARS! She retired from there as well. She held various positions there and some she liked more than others, of course! She met many people she did things with outside of work and kept in touch with after retirement. We remember many of those people, and their children, too. Some attended the church we grew up in: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Appleton.

On a more personal level, our mom was so special to us and there were many things she loved and things we loved about her: she enjoyed time with her grandchildren, had an opinion about everything, loved hugs, drank Kwik Trip coffee drinks on the regular, loved fish fries from the Camelot, kept every receipt and important paper, watched tv with no volume, didn’t miss the news or weather, loved the song Elvira, collected snowmen, enjoyed grill outs at our house, had an affinity for the color purple, sang praises about us, loved joking and picking on us, the list goes on. She was shy yet friendly once you sat down and talked with her, meticulous about her appearance and nails, coordinated her outfits with jewelry, and decorated her home in her own way. There is nothing like losing a parent. Mom, we love and miss you so much.

Our mom passed away unexpectedly. While she had many health conditions, it is believed her heart stopped the day she passed.

A private service for close family will be held. Our mom Sharon wanted you to remember her as she was. To celebrate her, whenever you have a Friday fish fry or a good dinner out, toast her with a Bloody Mary and a chaser of Miller Lite. That is how we will be celebrating her and keeping her memory alive as well.

We would like to thank the following for caring for our mom: Thedacare Hospital in Appleton and staff in the ER and on the 6th floor, Birch Hill Nursing Home and staff, Brewster Village Nursing Home and staff, the tenants at Regency Place Senior Living, By Your Side, Care Patrol Appleton and Pastor Tim Seabaugh. Thank you to our friends and family for your support. We couldn’t have gotten through all of this without you.