Sharon Rebecca Parish, 57, of Spotsylvania and Manassas, Va., passed away on Wednesday, February 9, 2011. She was taken instantly in a car accident while driving from work to her Manassas home.
Sharon was born on April 24, 1953, in Marlinton, W.Va., the daughter of the late Lloyd Joseph and Audrey Rose Woods. She is survived by her devoted husband of 35 years, Carleton Richard Parish; her brother, Charles Woods, and his wife, Vicki, of Slatyfork, W.Va.; her sister, Sandra Katrina Woods Beverage and her husband, Bobby, of Spotsylvania, Va.; a niece, Kathy Sheppard and her husband, David, and their two children, Annie and Elizabeth of Orange, Va.; a niece, Penny Stacey and her husband, Bron, of Spotsylvania, Va.; and two nephews, Danny and Kenny Woods of Slatyfork, W.Va. She also is survived by her and Carl's beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Lucky.
Sharon began her career with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1971 as a GS4 secretary and worked her way up through the ranks to a Senior Intelligence level-3 position during her years with the federal government. She was recently promoted to the position of deputy director of acquisitions for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). She would have celebrated her fortieth anniversary with the federal government on September 11, 2011.
Sharon received her associate's degree from Northern Virginia Community College, her bachelor's degree from George Mason University and her master's of business administration from Strayer University. Sharon, a member of the National Contract Management Association, negotiated many important contracts including the contract that set up In-Q-Tel, a nonprofit corporation created to support the mission of the CIA. In 2005, she was named an Outstanding Woman of NGA, and, in 2008, she was recognized by the director of national intelligence with a National Intelligence Career Achievement Medal.
In addition to her many contributions to the federal government, Sharon contributed her time and energy to a number of causes, including breast cancer awareness, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Arbor Day Foundation. She was a talented seamstress and has donated numerous homemade chemotherapy hats to cancer patients.
Sharon was loved by all those who knew her and all those who encountered her. She will be dearly missed by her family and friends as well as associates in the intelligence community, and has left a void in all the various circles of which she was a crucial part.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, February 16, 2011, at Laurel Hill Funeral Home in Spotsylvania, Va. Jack Marcom and Bill Bates will be officiating. Burial will be at Laurel Hill Memorial Park. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, February 15, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Laurel Hill.
Online condolences may be made at laurelhillfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Susan G. Komen for the Cure P. O. Box 650309 Dallas, TX 75265-0309 or The Pocahontas Continuous Care Center Rt. 1, Box 500 Marlinton, WV 24954.