Sharyl Kay Patton

Sharyl Kay (Strunk) Patton of Mesa, AZ, passed away on Friday, September 11, 2026, after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born November 5, 1951 in Elmira, NY, to Thomas William Strunk and Laura Jean (Allyn) Strunk.

Sharyl, along with her twin, Carol Loefstedt, was the oldest of five sisters, Billie Taylor, Ruth Odom, and Bobbi Krause. She grew up in Lounsberry, NY and graduated from the Alfred University College of Nursing.

She moved to Boston, MA where she worked as a registered nurse. She attended Park Street Church and became a devoted Christian with a passion for missionary work.

Her faith became a constant and defining characteristic of the remainder of her life. She lived her faith both in prayer and in action. She was an active member of her church wherever she lived at the time.

She particularly loved teaching and mentoring other women. Even after her cancer diagnosis she continued to teach Bible studies.

She led numerous short-term mission trips in the USA and around the world. Most notably, she began traveling to Czechoslovakia shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall and maintained an ongoing relationship that lasted for decades including helping to build a church there and moving to a suburb of Prague for a time.

She was adventurous and loved to travel. She was especially proud of the fact that she had been to all seven continents and all 50 US states.

Sharyl made friends wherever she went and she maintained lifelong relationships. Even when separated by long distances she called her friends on the phone nearly every day. She touched countless lives and will be deeply missed by many people both in the US and abroad.

Sharyl is survived by her son, Taylor Hill and his children: Daniel and Nora; and her stepson Chad (Laurie) Patton, their three sons and their children.

She is also survived by her sisters Billie Taylor, Ruth Odom, Bobbi Krause, and their children.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband Thomas Echo Hill, her second husband John Arthur Patton; and her twin sister Carol Loefstedt.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to all who supported Sharyl during her illness, especially the women of the Flourish Bible Study group, and Hospice of the Valley for the care and compassion they showed her in the final days of life.

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

—Matthew 18:20

Family and friends are invited to attend a celebration of life at Dayspring United Methodist Church in Tempe, AZ on October 2nd at 2pm. Reception and visitation with the family will follow immediately after.