Sharon Thornley Pearson, at the age of 90, passed away on July 3, 2026, from complications due to a fall in which she fractured her hip. Sharon was born November 7th, 1935 in Smithfield, Utah. She was the fourth of six daughters born to Alley Seamons Thornley and Echo Earl Thornley. When Sharon was three years old her parents moved to an 80-acre farm in Ucon, Idaho. Seven years later, the family moved to Harlem, Montana where she helped out on her parents’ potato farm, rode horses, and learned that any job worth doing was worth doing well. Sharon completed her elementary education. In High School she was a cheerleader and had a group of friends that she kept in touch with over the years. Sharon talented in drama and singing. She graduated from Harlem High School in 1954.
Sharon attended BYU in Provo, Utah from 1954-1956 before transferring to Northern Montana University in Havre, Montana where she graduated with a teaching diploma in 1958. While teaching a second-grade class in Great Falls, Montana, she met her future husband, George Pearson. They were married in the Cardston, Alberta, Canada LDS temple on July 2, 1959.
Sharon taught school in Havre, MT while George attended Northern Montana University from 1960-1962. In 1962 they moved with their first two children, Malane and Bill, to Provo, Utah where Sharon taught school until George finished his degree in 1966. After graduation, they moved to Fairfield, Montana to work on a family farm. During those years, they would move their family which now included two more sons, Wesley and Russell, to Big Sky, Montana where George would build roads to help supplement their income. Sharon and George’s fourth son, Spencer, was born in 1973.
In 1974, they decided to venture into farming on their own. It was a leap of faith. Sharon taught school off and on full time and substitute taught for many years as farmers were facing difficult economic challenges in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. She enjoyed teaching voice lessons to many students. She was a natural salesperson and sold cosmetics for four years. Sharon supported their trucking endeavors by serving as the “dispatcher” with her phone attached around her neck so she wouldn’t miss a call. She raised a huge garden and a large raspberry patch from which she canned many jars of food.
She was a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served as president of Relief Society, Primary, and Young Women’s and in many other capacities. In 2004-2005, she served a mission with her husband in St. Louis, Missouri.
Sharon is survived by their only daughter, Malane Anderson (Randy), and her four sons, William Holten Pearson (Terrie), Wesley Earl Pearson (Angela), Russell George Pearson (Rachelle), and Spencer Thornley Pearson (Hilary). She is also survived by one sister who was only 13 months younger, ElaDee Thornley Alcorn. She is the grandmother of 26 children and great-grandmother of 44 children.
Sharon is preceded in death by her faithful husband, George, her parents, Echo and Alley, and four of her sisters, Lois, Malane, Doraleen, and Linda. She was greatly loved and will be remembered for her exuberant, fun-loving personality, her amazing work ethic supported by boundless energy, her indominable spirit, her theatrical wit, her musical talents, mounds of homemade food and canning, absolute devotion to her family and as a disciple of Christ and holding tenaciously to the covenants she made. Her profound influence upon the lives of her children cannot be understated. Her posterity is a reflection of the things she loved and continues on to the next generations.
Services
Visitation
Saturday
July 11, 2026
10:00am to 11:00am
Church of Jesus Christ of LDS-Fairfield
295 7th St. S.
Fairfield, MT
Funeral Service
Saturday
July 11, 2026
11:00am
Church of Jesus Christ of LDS-Fairfield
295 7th St. S.
Fairfield, MT
Graveside Service
Saturday
July 11, 2026
12:30 pm
Sunset Hills Fairfield Cemetery
S Division Rd
Fairfield, MT
