Sharon Veach

(From Hedge-Lewis-Goodwin Funeral Home)

Sharon L. Veach, 69, died Wednesday, November 23, 2022, in Joplin, Missouri. She was born in Kirksville, Missouri, on December 11, 1952, and was the daughter of Dr. Henry Stoker and Erma Collins Stoker.

Sharon lived the first ten years of her life in Lancaster, Missouri, moving to Kirksville in 1963. She graduated from Kirksville Senior High School in May 1970. She attended and graduated from Northeast Missouri State College, now known as Truman University, in 1974 with a Bachelor’s of Science in English in Secondary Education. She taught one semester at LaPlata High School in the fall semester of 1974; she resigned due to health reasons. 

Sharon married Dennis R. Veach on September 3, 1971. He preceded her in death on June 17, 2021. They moved to Columbia, Missouri, and they lived there for over 20 years. They next moved to Carthage, Missouri, where they stayed 10 years before moving to Sachse, Texas. 

After Dennis’ death in 2021, Sharon moved to Joplin, Missouri, and resided at The Communities of Wildwood Ranch retirement home.

In addition to her husband, Sharon was preceded in death by a daughter, Jennifer Leigh Veach on Aug. 4, 2014, her parents, Henry Stoker and Erma Stoker, and a niece, Gabrielle Grace Langerot.

Survivors include sisters Debra (Daniel) Whitworth of Joplin and Karen (Michael) Langerot of Columbus, Kansas; a nephew Andrew (Micah) Whitworth of Tipp City, Ohio; Caitlin Whitworth of Denver, Colorado; a great niece Ellie Bentley and a great nephew Wade Bentley; and a great nephew Bram Whitworth, a brother in-law Kim Veach of Greentop, Missouri, and several cousins, in-laws, and friends.

Visitation will be on Monday, November 28 at 9 a.m. at Hedge-Lewis-Goodwin Funeral Home in Webb City, Missouri, with funeral arrangements at 10 a.m., also at Hedge-Lewis-Goodwin. Graveside services will immediately follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Webb City, Missouri.