Sharon Earl Speaks, 77, a beloved mother and friend, of Henderson, Kentucky, went to be with Jesus on Friday, July 28, 2017.  She dedicated her life to love and service and touched all those she met.

She was a member of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, where she was an Extraordinary Minister for the sick and suffering.  Sharon's nurturing and loving spirit cared for many during her career as a nurse at the Henderson Clinic.  She also served as an officer in the American Medical Association and was honored as a Kentucky Colonel.  For 25 years, Sharon was dedicated in service to helping St. Vincent De Paul Society.

She was preceded in death by two infants, Donald Raymond Speaks, Jr., and Cecilia Lorene Speaks; her parents, Earl and Marguerite McKeehan; and her stepmother, Virginia McKeehan.

Survivors include her husband of 55 years, Don; two daughters, Margie Speaks of Lexington, Kentucky, and Ginny Speaks of Nashville, Tennessee; one son, Ray Speaks and his wife, Rhonda, of Henderson, Kentucky; one stepbrother, Weldon Smith of McAlister, Oklahoma; one half sister, Gayle Copeland of Arlington, Texas; two grandchildren, Zayden Frederick and Raelyn Faith Frederick; and nieces and nephews.

Services will be at noon Wednesday at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church.  Father John Vaughan will officiate.

A celebration of life will be held Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Margaret Chapel, 685 Watson Lane, Henderson, Kentucky 42420, where a prayer service will begin at 6:30 p.m. and stories can be shared.

Contributions may be made to St. Anthony's Hospice or St. Vincent De Paul Society.

Rudy-Rowland Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Online condolences may be made at www.rudyrowland.com .

This excerpt from the poem "Drop a Pebble In the Water," expresses well her love in action.

Drop a pebble in the water:  just a splash, and it is gone;

But there's half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,

Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.

And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness: in a minute you forget;

But there's gladness still a-swelling, and there's joy circling yet,

And you've rolled a wave of comfort whose sweet music can be heard

Over miles and miles of water just by dropping one kind word.