Sharon McGee Rowell

Sharon Ann McGee Rowell of Houston, Texas passed away on January 17, 2023 at the age of 84. She was born on December 5, 1938 to Mercedes Bergeron McGee and Leslie Eugene McGee in Houston, Texas, where she grew up in the historic Second Ward neighborhood. Sharon graduated from Incarnate Word Academy in downtown Houston and went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of St. Thomas and a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from the University of Houston. She worked her entire professional career as a nurse and nurse administrator in various capacities for the Houston Independent School District, helping students with special needs achieve their goals. In her free time, Sharon was involved in numerous book clubs in The Heights and surrounding neighborhoods. Sharon enjoyed Cajun cooking, which she learned from her mother, who was born in Thibodaux, Louisiana. She also enjoyed gardening, knitting, quiltmaking, and needlecraft and was renowned for her delicious homemade cobblers and pies.

Sharon is preceded in death by her mother, Mercedes McGee (1917–1970) and father, Leslie McGee (1914–1988), as well as her youngest brother, Michael McGee (1942–2009), stepmother Irma McGee, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws.

She is survived by her sons Walton Douglass Rowell IV and Steven McGee Rowell and her daughters-in-law Jennifer Lukehart (to Walton) and Priyanka Basu (to Steven) and their families. Also survived by Sharon is her brother, Jerry McGee and his wife Connie McGee who live in Spring, Texas, as well as Sharon’s ex-husband, Walton Douglass Rowell III, who lives in Wharton, Texas. Sharon’s countless loved ones will remember that her childhood friend, Margaret Koster and her family—husband Gerald (deceased), Mike, Ken, and Jason—treated Sharon and her sons as if they were part of their own family.

Although Sharon’s sons and daughters-in-law all lived outside of Texas, they were very close to her and with her during her last months and days. They helped her transition from a life that had recently been complicated by Alzheimer’s disease to a place of eternal peace and comfort. She will always be with her family, in their hearts and memories. In particular, her sons would like the world to know how strong and independent Sharon was. Since the early 1970s, she raised her two sons, Wally and Steve, as a working single Mom, moving from the neighborhoods of Montrose to Maplewood South to Alief. She selflessly moved further away from her workplace to ensure that they could attend better schools in the Alief School District. After both sons had graduated high school and were attending the University of Texas in Austin, Sharon settled into a home in the Timbergrove Heights neighborhood where she lived happily with her cats Rainy and, later, Katie. In this home that she loved, Sharon built a peaceful, beautiful sanctuary from the hectic city. Her home was flooded in 2001 during Tropical Storm Allison and restored under her watchful eye. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey flooded the home a second time. Sharon’s sons, daughters-in-law, and many friends, including Alex Nett and her former neighbors George Montgomery and Jerry and Debbie Fraizer, helped her move to the Clarewood House independent living facility in Sharpstown. It was here where Sharon lived her final five years. The family would like to thank the employees and nurses at Clarewood House for the care and compassion they showed our loved one in her final days.

Family and friends will soon be invited to attend a celebration of Sharon’s life. Details forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Sharon’s honor to the Alzheimer's Association or the Clarewood House Charitable Trust.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com/location/houston-cremation for the Rowell family.