Sharon Lee (DeLong) Rhodes, 80, of Circleville, was born in Chillicothe on Aug. 14, 1935, the youngest of four children to the late Dan and Hazel (Litter) Delong Jr.
She was preceded in death by brother, Kenneth “Bud” DeLong; sisters, Marilyn Heraldson and June Stockman, all from Chillicothe; and by sister-in-law, Ginny Delong.
She worked at USS Plastics Plant, DuPont and retired from Berger Hospital in Circleville at the age of 70. She loved her job at Berger Hospital.
She spent her entire life being an advocate for neglected, abused, homeless animals, nursing and caring for many back to health as well as adopting many over the years. She taught her children how to love and enjoy all animals. She belonged to numerous animal foundations.
At the age of 5, she carried her pet chicken through an entire pet parade. She was also an artist.
Sharon is survived by daughter, Roni (Carl) Altier of Lancaster; her daughter’s father, Ronnie Keiser; nieces, Jayne (Pat) Stanley and Judy (Ron) Bethel from Chillicothe; nephews, John, Kenny, Jim and Jeff DeLong,all of Chillicothe; special friends, Mary Kay Thompson and Judy Gulick from Circleville; and her kitty buddie, Gray.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 21, 2016, in the Grandview Cemetery, Chillicothe. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Wellman Funeral Home, Circleville.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to Circle Area Humane Society in Sharon’s name.
Online condolences can be made to www.wellmanfuneralhomes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
