1946
Sharal
2010
Sharal McKay
June 22, 1946 — March 6, 2010
AuTrain
Sharal A. McKay, age 63, of E3216 M-28, AuTrain, died on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at Marquette General Hospital following a brief illness. She was born on June 22, 1946 to Ervin and Etheleen (Sharick) Hartwell. Sharal's father was in the service so she grew up traveling around the country. She graduated from Bentley Senior High School in Flint. Sharal went to cosmetology school and worked as a beautician. She raised her five children and taught them to love each other and to take care of each other. Times were not always easy, but the children did not go without. Sharal took them camping and they made a lot of fun out of the little they had. She was very proud of the work she did at the Women's Center in Bay City and she taught her children the importance of treating all people equally and how to stand up for themselves. Sharal found true happiness when a gentleman by the name of Joe McKay came into her life. He loved her and her five children. They took a family vacation to the Upper Peninsula in 1986 and decided to move here. They rented a house while on vacation and they returned home, packed up and moved the kids north. Sharal worked for different resorts in the AuTrain area. She worked as an aide at the Shannon House and at the Superior Health Haven before going to work for AMCAB. For many years, Sharal cooked for the Meals on Wheels program. She and Joe owned the AuTrain Remodeling and Reconstruction Company. They worked together buying homes, fixing them up, and then selling them. She was also a homemaker and a member of the Moose Lodge. One of Sharal's most proud decisions she made in her life was completing the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) classes. She and her daughter Amy spent a year in the classes to become Catholic before she and Joe married. They were married on Valentines Day 1993. Sharal and Joe even spent a year teaching religious education to the kids at St. Therese in AuTrain. She truly felt at peace while watching the wildlife on the water. She enjoyed spending hours reading and watching the deer dance on the ice of the AuTrain River and majesty of Lake Superior. Sharal enjoyed collecting all things nautical - especially lighthouses, going to auctions and rummage sales, bird watching, camping with Joe, and studying Native American culture and history. Sharal also loved flower gardening. She could make a yard look as beautiful as she made her home.
She is survived by her loving husband and soulmate - Joe McKay of AuTrain; children - Curt Love of Marquette, Sue (Joe Beauchaine) LaBean of Trenary, Deeann "Dee Dee" Hyde of Munising, Amy (George) Mannisto of Lost Lake, Luke (Lei) Pickard of Marquette, and Samantha Bellanger of Midland; mother - Etheleen Hartwell of the Jericho House in Munising; 18 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren with another on the way; sister - Sue (Bob) Scherman of Grand Blanc, MI; brother - Roger (Bethany) Hartwell of Davisburg, MI; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. Sharal was preceded in death by her daughter Veronica Pickard, father Ervin Hartwell, son-in-law Steve LaBean, granddaughter Chelsey Sue DeVought, and in-laws Doris and Tom McKay.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated by Father Chris Gardiner on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Munising. Interment will be at the Serenity Pines Cemetery in AuTrain.
Sharal A. McKay, age 63, of E3216 M-28, AuTrain, died on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at Marquette General Hospital following a brief illness. She was born on June 22, 1946 to Ervin and Etheleen (Sharick) Hartwell. Sharal's father was in the service so she grew up traveling around the country. She graduated from Bentley Senior High School in Flint. Sharal went to cosmetology school and worked as a beautician. She raised her five children and taught them to love each other and to take care of each other. Times were not always easy, but the children did not go without. Sharal took them camping and they made a lot of fun out of the little they had. She was very proud of the work she did at the Women's Center in Bay City and she taught her children the importance of treating all people equally and how to stand up for themselves. Sharal found true happiness when a gentleman by the name of Joe McKay came into her life. He loved her and her five children. They took a family vacation to the Upper Peninsula in 1986 and decided to move here. They rented a house while on vacation and they returned home, packed up and moved the kids north. Sharal worked for different resorts in the AuTrain area. She worked as an aide at the Shannon House and at the Superior Health Haven before going to work for AMCAB. For many years, Sharal cooked for the Meals on Wheels program. She and Joe owned the AuTrain Remodeling and Reconstruction Company. They worked together buying homes, fixing them up, and then selling them. She was also a homemaker and a member of the Moose Lodge. One of Sharal's most proud decisions she made in her life was completing the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) classes. She and her daughter Amy spent a year in the classes to become Catholic before she and Joe married. They were married on Valentines Day 1993. Sharal and Joe even spent a year teaching religious education to the kids at St. Therese in AuTrain. She truly felt at peace while watching the wildlife on the water. She enjoyed spending hours reading and watching the deer dance on the ice of the AuTrain River and majesty of Lake Superior. Sharal enjoyed collecting all things nautical - especially lighthouses, going to auctions and rummage sales, bird watching, camping with Joe, and studying Native American culture and history. Sharal also loved flower gardening. She could make a yard look as beautiful as she made her home.
She is survived by her loving husband and soulmate - Joe McKay of AuTrain; children - Curt Love of Marquette, Sue (Joe Beauchaine) LaBean of Trenary, Deeann "Dee Dee" Hyde of Munising, Amy (George) Mannisto of Lost Lake, Luke (Lei) Pickard of Marquette, and Samantha Bellanger of Midland; mother - Etheleen Hartwell of the Jericho House in Munising; 18 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren with another on the way; sister - Sue (Bob) Scherman of Grand Blanc, MI; brother - Roger (Bethany) Hartwell of Davisburg, MI; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. Sharal was preceded in death by her daughter Veronica Pickard, father Ervin Hartwell, son-in-law Steve LaBean, granddaughter Chelsey Sue DeVought, and in-laws Doris and Tom McKay.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated by Father Chris Gardiner on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Munising. Interment will be at the Serenity Pines Cemetery in AuTrain.
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