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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. — Carolyn Johnson, “CJ,” passed away April 25, 2023, in Lakeport surrounded by family and loved ones after a short battle with cancer at the age of 87.
She was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts and spent most of her life in San Francisco and graduated from Balboa High School.
She later moved to Novato, then moved to Lake County to build and resided in her home in Lucerne, California for over 40 years.
Throughout her career she held many high secretarial positions earning employee of the year and a letter from then-Sen. Mike Thompson while employed with Lake County Public Works.
She retired in 1996 but continued an active lifestyle of fishing, bowling, doing puzzles, playing Mahjong, playing the organ and yard work, and her favorite place to shop was Home Depot.
CJ took pride in everything she did and had a lot of friendships that lasted a lifetime! She will be really missed, always cherished and loved, and never forsaken. In lieu of sending flowers donations can be made to Hospice of Lake County.
A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 1, at the Nice Community Baptist Church.
Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
William Biggs
Born: Aug. 11, 1942
Modesto, California
Deceased: May 8, 2023
William (Bill) Biggs was the eldest of 11 children.
He is survived by four brothers and five sisters; his wife, Carol Simpson Biggs; daughter, Marty Aarreberg; son, Marshall Moore; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Bill moved to Lake County, California, in 2000 when he retired from his construction equipment sales business in San Diego County.
He served three years in the U S Army, Graduated from San Diego State University with a Masters in Business Administration.
He was personnel and payroll manager for San Diego City Schools for 10 years before becoming a business owner, in Lakeside, California, where he sold construction equipment.
Bill was a loving father, grandfather, and friend to those who knew him. His personal mission was to mentor the young people in his life; he had much to share and wanted to help shape the future of the young people around him.
He had a passion for Italian cars and a gift for bringing them back to life. As Parkinson’s Disease took over his life, he continued to restore his Italian beauties by guiding people to help him get them on the road.
He was a charter member and on the board of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club, member of the Ferrari Club of America, Ferrari Owner’s Club, No Name Car Club, Clearlake Car Club, Lake County A’s and numerous other Car Club’s.
He raced vintage Alfa Romeo’s at Laguna Seca in the 1970s and prided himself on driving his car to the track every year, from San Diego, instead of transporting it by trailer.
Bill will be missed by those who knew him and especially by his wife, Carol.
There will be a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Friday, May 26, at St Peter’s Catholic Church, 4085 Main St., Kelseyville. Refreshments to follow.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Sharon Marie Dawson-Garrett
Sept. 4, 1960 – May 2, 2023
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — Middletown lost one of its brightest stars early in May, when Sharon Marie Dawson-Garrett passed away in the company of family at a local care facility.
She was 62, having succumbed to complications from cancer that she had tackled since 2017.
“There was nothing standard about Sharon,” recalled her husband, Tommy Garrett, noting her achievements in painting, photography and writing. “She had an artistic gift, a vision that is rare and one of a kind.”
Born in San Francisco, the daughter of Caroline Marie Wiley-Collins, Sharon was raised by her mother and adoptive father, James Edward Collins, in Menlo Park, Calif. Sharon attended local schools and then majored in fine arts at Santa Barbara State University.
After moving to several towns with her sons, Sharon bought an old Victorian house in Middletown in 1988 and began her photography career. She worked for the Middletown Times-Star as an assignment photographer and, beginning in 1994, authored a weekly column, “Squawkings,” for more than a decade.
In 2014, Sharon’s portrait photography led her to launch “Wave of Hope,” a nonprofit program centered on individuals who had overcome turmoil, with Sharon’s interviews and pictures of the survivors forming the centerpiece of a traveling exhibit. She was awarded a Stars of Lake County Humanitarian Award for her work on the project.
According to her son Brandon, “Wave of Hope” embodied the concern for others that was a hallmark of his mother’s personality. “She never let anyone down,” he noted, adding that as a supportive mom and friend, “she always had your back.”
When the Valley Fire in 2015 destroyed their home, Sharon and Tommy rebuilt a house on the same site. “She wanted to stay near her neighbors in town, whom she called her ‘peeps,’” Tommy remembered.
After her cancer diagnosis, Sharon kept up her creative pursuits, notably writing an account of her medical treatments in 2022, “Suddenly Terminal,” in which she personified her illness as an unwelcome houseguest with whom she argues and ultimately accepts. She followed the publication of that book with a two-volume collection of her “Squawkings” columns, released earlier this year.
Sharon is survived by her husband, Tommy, whom she married in 2017 after 12 years of courtship; her sons Collin and Brandon; her first husband, Russell Dawson; her sisters Susan Nitzel-Blum and Jacqueline Cohen; and numerous cousins and an aunt from the Wiley family. Another sister, Annie Collins, died in 2018.
A celebration of Sharon’s life is scheduled for July 22 from noon to 3 p.m. at Twin Pines Casino in Middletown.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to https://www.gofundme.com/f/42mfj-memorial-celebration?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1 to offset the cost of the memorial celebration.
Those who knew Sharon remember her as the heart and soul of her family, which she extended to include friends and pretty much anyone she met. Hundreds of people have known her for her caring, intuitive heart. She will always be remembered for her soul in her art, photography, and writing.
But lastly, she will be remembered for her humane nature and the caring she showed for her animals and gardens, nurturing them the same way she cared for everyone she befriended.
She leaves a hole in our hearts but will be remembered through the positive things we do to care for other people, the same as she did for us.