William Sharp

LEAWOOD, Kansas -- William Mitchell "Bill" Sharp passed away Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, in Leawood.

Bill was born a Christmas baby Dec. 25, 1950, to Clay LaValle and Ruby Stoner Sharp of Sikeston, Missouri.

Bill lived his life as though there were only three seasons of the year: football season, basketball season and baseball season. He graduated from Sikeston (Missouri) High School in 1969, and his beautiful mother passed away a year later while he was a freshman at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.

He married his childhood sweetheart, Sandra Mayfield Sharp, on June 7, 1972, and graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1973, receiving a bachelor's degree in business.

When he was young, he enjoyed boating and water skiing, playing basketball and attending games of the Missouri Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals as well as volunteering with the Sikeston Jaycees. He lived in Clarksville and Hazen, Arkansas, in the 1980s before moving home to Sikeston in 1990, after his wife experienced a traumatic brain injury and became disabled in a car accident in 1987. While in Sikeston, he served on the board of the local soup kitchen and enjoyed sampling all the local barbecue he could eat.

Bill worked for Montgomery First National Bank for more than 10 years as its executive vice president and enjoyed raising his two children in the same boyhood home he'd grown up in. He coached his son's baseball teams and taught his children to shoot hoops. He coached youth league basketball for more than 25 years. He raised his children right -- hanging on the back end of his golf cart while he played a quick nine holes. He was an avid golfer, winning numerous club tournaments with his famous long putts.

Bill and Sandra moved to Hannibal, Missouri, in 2003, where Bill was named president of F&M Bank. He served as the president of the Lions Club. He became a doting grandfather for the first time in 2010. Then in 2011 he was named chief credit officer of Hawthorn Bank and moved to Jefferson City, Missouri. Bill was a member of the Missouri Bankers Association most of his adult life and worked in executive positions at some of the most prominent and well-respected banks in the state.

Bill spent 34 years taking care of Sandra after her accident and was her sole caregiver until the end of his life. His testament to her and to his family was unwavering as he wanted nothing more than to take care of those he loved. He was a man who naturally commanded respect as he equally gave it to those in return. He had high expectations for those around him, yet he was patient, kind and the most generous man you'd meet.

Bill is survived by his wife, Sandra Sharp of Kansas City; son, William Mitchell Sharp Jr. and his wife, Jessica, of South Carolina; daughter, Elizabeth "Betsy" Sharp Lynch and husband, Jake, of Kansas City, Missouri; brother and sister-in-law, Val and Christina Sharp of Naples, Florida; and four grandchildren, Jimmy, Kathy Madge and Billy Lynch and Zoey Sharp.

A funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Visitation Catholic Church, 5141 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64112. Bill's wishes were for cremation.

In lieu of flowers, send donations to the Westminster Fund, which provides scholarships for students attending Westminster College. Memorial gifts may be made to Westminster College, Attn.: Business Office, 501 Westminster Ave., Fulton, MO 65251, and note "Westminster Fund" on the gift.

Park Lawn Funeral Home in Kansas City is in charge of arrangements.