Helen Virginia 'Ginny' Shands Sharp

Helen Virginia “Ginny” Shands Sharp of Fort Myers, Florida passed away on Sunday, May 30, 2021. Virginia was born May 29, 1940 in Fort Myers, Florida, the eldest daughter of the late Honorable Judge Thomas W. Shands and Elizabeth S. Shands. She was a graduate of Fort Myers High School in 1958 and Saint Margaret’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1962.

Funeral services will be 2:00 P.M. Friday, June 4, 2021 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Fort Myers, Florida with inurnment following at St. Joseph’s Garden at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Fort Myers, Florida.

Virginia was a loving sister, mother, grandmother, and friend. Virginia had many life accomplishments, but perhaps the one she cherished most was her career in nursing. Nursing was not just a “job” for Virginia, it was a passion and a privilege that she carried out for 54 years. In her time as a nurse she worked in a myriad of roles. She worked as a floor nurse in various departments, a charge nurse, infection control nurse, and an educator. Virginia impacted countless individuals throughout her nursing career and continuously exuded the love of Christ, immeasurable compassion and unending hospitality each and every day. Virginia also enjoyed coaching her daughter’s softball teams through the years, she loved going on vacations and adventures with her family and friends, and she also enjoyed cooking for others.

Most importantly, even as Virginia’s health was declining, she continued to touch lives with her amazing testimony. She told her many caretakers stories upon stories of how her Heavenly Father had been with her throughout her nursing career and each and every day.

Surviving her are her daughter, Catherine Smith and her husband, Todd; Her son, Keith Sharp; and her granddaughter, Lauren. Also surviving her are her sister, Carroll Shands, and many loving cousins.

Virginia’s legacy lives on through her granddaughter, Lauren, who is an RN and a graduate of Brenau (May, 2018). Therefore, Virginia asked that in lieu of flowers, donations should be made in her memory to the Mary Inez Grindle School of Nursing of Brenau University in Gainesville, GA. If you would like to make a donation, you can provide an online gift to https://giving.brenau.edu/give-online/ and identify that the gift is a memorial gift for Virginia Sharp, or donors may send a check to Brenau University, Office of External Relations, 500 Washington Street SE, Gainesville, GA 30501.

Memorial Park South Funeral Home, 4121 Falcon Parkway, Flowery Branch, Georgia 30542 is in charge of arrangements.  Send on-line condolences to www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com.