Kathryn (Kathy) Lee Sharpenter

Kathryn (Kathy) Lee Sharpenter née Moburg, age 80, died on July 12, 2023 at the Williams Bay Care Center in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. She died from a rare neurological disease called PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) that she battled for many years. At the time of her death she was surrounded by loving friends and family and the wonderful staff at the Care Center and Hospice.

Kathy was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 31, 1943 to Gerald Robbins Moburg and Lorraine Moburg (Howard). She had two younger sisters: Leslie (born 1946) and Barbara (born 1952). Kathy lived her early life in Chicago and then Evanston, Illinois graduating from Evanston Township High School in 1961. Kathy was always a brilliant student. She was a National Merit Scholar finalist, graduated second in her high school class (she was not happy about coming in second). She then spent one year at University of Southern California on a Physics Scholarship. She later continued her education one or two courses at a time at various institutions while working and parenting. Kathy eventually graduated with double Bachelor’s degrees from Roosevelt University in Chicago in Marketing and Social Science. Throughout her entire educational career, she earned all A’s with the exception of one B (which infuriated her).

Kathy was married to Robert (Bob) Sharpenter in 1966 and they had two children: Theodore (Ted) Sharpenter (born 1968) and Karin Sharpenter (born 1973). Kathy and Bob divorced after 10 years and Kathy, with the help of her grandmother Myrtle (Nena) Howard, managed the difficult task of raising two children involved in many activities and working full-time and going to college.

Kathy’s entire adult life was devoted to athletics and fitness. From high school where she was a cheerleader and school mascot to an amazing run as a young female golfer with a scratch handicap who played mostly at Big Foot Country Club in Fontana, Wisconsin. At Big Foot she won the women’s club championship for 15 years mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. She also played in the Women’s National Amateur Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Kathy continued to play for fun for decades. Later in her life she took up running and at age 50 ran in the Chicago Marathon. Later still she became an avid walker. Her favorite walks were on the beach at St. Petersburg, Florida and on the lake path around Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Not only was Kathy an athlete by hobby but her entire career was in the sports and fitness industry. She held many different jobs. She taught gymnastics to children and aerobics to adults. She worked in the Chicago suburbs at the Blackhawk Fitness Center and the Poplar Creek Golf Course, ultimately retiring from the Hoffman Estates Park District after attaining a managerial position. In all of those jobs she was always teaching. Whether it was preschoolers in gymnastics, physically challenged middle aged women in aerobics or scores of teenagers working part-time in fitness centers, she was never known to lose her temper at work. Always calm, always soft-spoken, she influenced hundreds of people in her career.

Kathy retired in 2008 and moved permanently to Fontana Wisconsin to be near her daughter Karin, her beloved grandchildren Jackson (born 2002) and Jonathon (born 2008) and her favorite lake. There she walked the lake path, helped care for her grandchildren, went to every event in which they participated and spent weekends with her lifelong friend Wynn Kouzmanoff boating and socializing.

Kathy is survived by her sisters Leslie Henderson and Barbara Moburg, son Ted and his fiancée Vanessa, daughter Karin Slayton, ex-son-in-law Rick Slayton, grandsons Jackson Slayton and Jonathon Slayton and her dearest lifetime friend Wynn.

There will be a celebration of Kathy’s life upstairs at Chuck’s in Fontana, Wisconsin on August 26, 2023 from 1-5pm. In lieu of flowers please consider contributing to the online GoFundMe  campaign for Kathryn Sharpenter to create a memorial bench in her honor on the Lake Geneva lake path, https://gofund.me/06b9bbf3

For more information call Toynton Funeral Home at 262-275-2171

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