FORMER LOCAL SALVATION ARMY COMMANDER DIES

PIEDMONT -- Capt. Kenneth D. Sharp, 81, of Piedmont, who commanded the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau from 1973-75, died Friday. He devoted a combined 28 years of service to the Salvation Army as corps officer, retiring in 1975.

Sharp died at the Lucy Lee Hospital in Poplar Bluff after a brief illness.

He entered the Salvation Army school for officers training in 1934 in New York City. He was ordained the following year.

Following service in St. Louis and Joplin, Sharp and his wife, Marilyn, were named to Cape Girardeau's Salvation Army in 1973.

One of the programs the Sharps brought to Cape Girardeau was the new toys for needy kids Christmas project, which is still used today by the Salvation Army here. It replaced a used toy program.

After retiring in Cape Girardeau from the Salvation Army, he worked as circulation manager at the former Bulletin-Journal newspaper from 1975 to 1977.

In 1978, Sharp then re-entered the ministry at the request of the Methodist Church, serving for 11 years. He first pastored for two years at the Third Street Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. He then served as pastor at Methodist churches in Piedmont and Caledonia. He and his wife retired to Piedmont in 1989.

With his white beard and hair, Sharp was a familiar sight at Christmastime, playing Santa Claus throughout the region for the past 10 years.

He was born in Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 4, 1910, to Brintin and Mae Secler Sharp.

He married Marilyn Watson on Nov. 8, 1952. She survives.

Other survivors include three sons, Ralph, John and Kevin Sharp, all of Cape Girardeau; two brothers, Francis Sharp of Wachula, Fla., and Wynbert Sharp of Philadelphia; and four grandchildren.

Friends may call at the Reugg Funeral Home in Piedmont tonight from 6 until 9.

Funeral services will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Piedmont, where he had served as pastor. Maj. Harold Hatfield with the Salvation Army headquarters in St. Louis will officiate, along with the Rev. Paul Catterton of the United Methodist Church.

Burial will follow at the Fairmount Cemetery in Cape Girardeau. Following the burial, friends and family may call at the Cape Bible Chapel, where a reception is planned from 3-4 p.m. Monday.