John Curtis Sharp

John Curtis “Curt” Sharp, age 81, passed away May 25, 2023.  He was born November 18, 1941, in Blue Earth, MN to John and Dorothy (Schroeder) Sharp. He grew up in Blue Earth and, following high school there, attended Mankato State University.  It was while attending Mankato State that he met Jacqueline “Jackie” Brown; they fell madly in love and married on December 26, 1964. They have been together for 60 years according to Jackie, and married for nearly 59 of them.  

After spending time teaching in Le Sueur, MN, Beaver Dam, WI and Mankato, MN (where Curt completed his Master’s degree in Education), they moved to Manitowoc where their daughters were born. It was there that Curt taught business courses at Lakeshore Technical College, where he served twice as president of the Lakeshore Education Association.  During his 30 years teaching at Lakeshore Technical College, Curt formed many lifelong friendships with his colleagues.  His favorite colleague though, was Jackie, who also worked there and with whom he traded stories at the end of each day.

Curt loved sports.  He played tennis and basketball in high school, spent time coaching track while teaching high school, and enjoyed watching his daughter, Jill, play tennis in high school and college.  Curt could be found watching his favorite sports on TV and often would combine playing cribbage with his daughters with a basketball game playing in the background.

Curt was focused on creating a solid financial future for his family. Starting when his daughters were babies, he took on every extra teaching hour he could. He enjoyed investing on his own and doing the research to identify good, solid, long-term investments. One of his proudest accomplishments, however, was serving as his own general contractor during the construction of two homes. Referencing a book called, “Building Your Own Home,” Curt worked diligently with sub-contractors and others to construct homes for his family.

While raising his family and keeping up with Jackie, Curt enjoyed spending his time off golfing, playing tennis, and playing cards – especially cribbage and gin rummy.  He was quite competitive when playing gin rummy with Jackie on their road trips, and each tournament was aptly named after the town they were visiting (“Makin it in Macon” as an example).

Upon retiring, Curt and Jackie travelled to Europe, which resulted in Curt getting bit by the "travel" bug. Trips to many other international locations followed including other cities in Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean.  They also loved to take road trips around the United States.  

Curt was known for enjoying time with family and friends. He loved a good laugh and a great joke, was quick to smile and was tender and kind hearted to everyone.

Curt was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Cleone Coble, and his brother Jim. His parents-in-law, James A. and Luella “Bunny” Brown, preceded him in passing as well. We know they are up in Heaven playing pool, enjoying a Manhattan, and laughing it up. 

He is survived by his adoring wife Jackie, his daughters and sons-in-law (that he loved like sons) Jill (Erik) Attkisson, Jacee (Chris) Hansen, and his five grandchildren: Wyatt and Cally Attkisson, and Cole, John and Caitlyn Hansen. He is further survived by his eldest sister, Vada (Sharp) Affonso and her husband Bill Affonso, his sisters and brother-in-law Jamie (Mitch) Carroll, James B. (Lynn) Brown, and JoLynn (Collin) Siedor. He was fortunate to be loved by his many nieces and nephews, as well as many friends from all parts of his life.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 16th at 4pm at Wichmann’s Funeral Home, 537 N. Superior Street, Appleton, WI. There will be a visitation preceding the memorial service from 2-4pm. Live streaming will be available for those that cannot travel. To honor Curt’s memory, donations to the Fox Valley Memory Project will be gratefully appreciated.

For friends and family unable to attend the service, there will be a livestream available on this page.