Sharon A. Gering Stauffacher passed away Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at her home after a courageous battle against ALS.
Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, March 23, 2024, at 10:30 A.M. at St. Benedict Church with Fr. Meinrad Miller, OSB, officiating. Interment will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. A parish rosary will be recited at 9:30 A.M. at church with visitation to follow until time of service. In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to the ALS Association and may be left in care of the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home.
Sharon was born September 1, 1943, in Atchison, Kansas, the daughter of Frank J. and Bea (Keimig) Gering. She attended St. Benedict’s Grade School in Atchison and later graduated from Mount St. Scholastica Academy. Following high school, she attended Marymount College in Salina.
She and Peter K. Stauffacher were married June 22, 1963, in Atchison, Kansas, and later divorced.
Sharon was a stay-at-home mother when her children were young. Later she served as a school bus driver for eight years in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. She then served as a parish secretary for St. James in Liberty, Missouri, for ten years. Sharon was an extremely talented seamstress and did custom work for over 37 years. She was also a very talented pianist and served as accompanist for many Excelsior Springs Community Theater productions.
Sharon was very active in her church. She attended weekly adoration and served as a musician for mass in her time at St. James Parish. She also served on the Art, Environment, Music and Liturgy Advisory Council, the Stephen Ministry Leadership Team, and was a member of the parish and diocesan choirs. In her leisure time she enjoyed visiting relatives and friends, reading, sewing, quilting, crocheting and needlework.
Survivors include two sons, Peter J. Stauffacher, Atchison, KS, Philip Stauffacher, Atchison, KS, three daughters, Bridget (Bob) Mattler, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, Michelle (Jeff) Andrew, Topeka, KS, Theresa (Paulo) Baier, Topeka, KS, a brother, Mike (Pat) Gering, Atchison, KS, two sisters, Kay (Mike) Shaughnessy, Kansas City, MO, Linda (Terry) Polen, Chesterton, IN, seven grandchildren, Christopher and Celia Mattler, Sam and Elena Andrew, and Maya, Zoie and Emma Baier, and numerous Shaughnessy and Gering nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her former husband, Peter K. Stauffacher and two infant sons, Thomas Paul and Steven Francis Stauffacher.
