Joan Wilkes

Joan Charlene "Shar" Wilkes, born July 15th, 1951, passed away at Wyoming Medical Center on March 23rd, 2013.

"Joannie," the daughter of Marcus & Hattie Wexman, grew up in Illinois with her siblings Erica and Tommy and her uncle Jomie. Her youngster years were spent in Chicago and her teenage years in Wilmette where she attended New Trier High School. She attended the National College of Education at Evanston, Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After finishing her baccalaureate at the University of Oklahoma at Norman, she moved to Casper, Wyoming in the mid-1970s. Casper was home for the vast majority of her adult life.

Elementary education was her passion. From 1974 to 2002, "Shar" served in the mission of public education as a teacher for the Natrona County School District with an emphasis in special education. She took a sabbatical in 1984 to develop exhibits for children at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper.

Tutoring sessions and classroom interactions with children struggling to learn to read provided a vision for a phonics-based learning strategy to teach the sounds of the English language. In 1989 she, along with artist and co-author Jane Grogan, developed the materials that would later be published as the book The Fantastic Phonics Food Factory (2000). The book and its accompanying parent/teacher guide can be downloaded for free at www.archive.org.

She enjoyed drawing and painting, but her love for artistry was exceeded by her love for interacting with other people. Her kindness, especially expressed through her desire to make other people happy, was felt by adults as well as children. She loved to socialize with friends, and her friends gave back to her in many important ways.

She is survived by: her son Robert McKinnon Wilkes and his spouse (Stacie Olsen-Wilkes) of Pullman, Washington; her step-daughter Erin Wesnitzer and step-grandchildren Alyssa and Garret Wesnitzer of Casper, Wyoming; her nephew Daniel Levin of Chicago, Illinois; her uncle Jerome Ehrich of Parker, Colorado; and several cousins. She was preceded in death by her father, mother, brother, sister, and step-son.

Folks, near and far, are encouraged to share stories and memories of the ways in which she touched our lives on her obituary webpage at www.newcomercasper.com.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, well-wishers are encouraged to make charitable donations to their preferred charities in the name of Shar Wilkes.

A gathering to honor the wonderful woman, multiply known as "Joannie," "Shar," and "Ms. Wilkes," will take place in Casper this summer. Attendees will be encouraged to share thoughts and memories.