Sharon Lynn Jern

Sharon Lynn Jern (nee Mark), 87, graphic designer and visual/commercial artist; formerly of Minneapolis, MN, Highland Park, IL, and Elizabethtown, KY; passed away peacefully November 10, 2024 at Aperion Wesley Place in Chicago.

Sharon was born in Minneapolis and left a fantastic list of all of her paying jobs and education from the age of 13 to 81, including: Babysitter, “truck farm” pulling and washing radishes and carrots, and clerking at Woolworth’s Christmas Ornament department, all in Minneapolis. She then attended art school while working in the Art Department of a beauty supply manufacturer, creating packaging and label designs. Sharon then moved to Dayton, Ohio where she briefly designed greeting cards (two weeks!) before moving to Wright/Patterson Air Force Base’s Technical Publishing Dept., with top secret clearance. Sharon moved to Chicago where she worked at Karzen & Associate on Michigan Avenue. After marrying, Sharon took a break to have her son, then served for twelve years as Art Manager at the Carson Pirie Scott & Co. in Winnetka, designing all nine windows and all store displays. Sharon spent the next 21 years working at the U.S. Army Recruiting Command as an illustrator and then in Management Analysis at Fort Sheridan, IL and then Fort Knox, KY. Sharon learned much from every job and really enjoyed each job and the people, except for two, which we will not mention.

Sharon was quite a collector of antiques and in retirement, clerked at Somewhere in Time Antique Mall in Radcliff, Kentucky, where she clerked and also ran her own booth of collectibles. She was an avid home gardener and member of the Elizabethtown, KY Garden Club; a Kentucky Colonel who was active in politics and served as an election judge most of her adult life. Sharon received many accreditations from Republican politicians, most recently for her 80th birthday. Sharon was a big Chicago Cubs fan who collected baseball memorabilia.

In March, 2023, Sharon moved from Kentucky to Chicago to be close to her son Chris, who passed unexpectedly but peacefully in his sleep six months later. Sharon lived out the rest of her days being looked after by the staff at Wesley Place and also by some of her son's closest friends.

Preceded in death by son Christopher Wendell Jern (aka “DJ Shane Ringo), husband Jerry Wendell Jern, brother Jerry Mark, and parents Marion W. and Margaret L. (nee Johnson) Mark. Sharon is survived by nieces Deb Mark and Lindy Melberg and also by her dear friends Jim & Deb Weise of Elizabethtown, KY and Renee Krupa and Mark Steiner of Chicago.

Per Sharon’s request, services will be private and her cremated remains will be scattered alongside those of her son. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to PAWS Chicago https://www.pawschicago.org/ or Unity Hospice https://www.unityhospice.com/. Arrangements by Inclusive Funeral Care, 773-370-2959 or www.InclusiveFuneralCare.com.