Sharon Pauline Burks

Sharon Pauline (Inman) Burks was born on February 29, 1940, in Elmer, New Jersey, the fourth of ten children. She passed away peacefully on February 9, 2026, just three weeks shy of her 86th birthday.

Sharon had a wonderful sense of humor, a keen intellect, and many talents. She was a skilled writer, editor, and seamstress, and a gifted musician who played piano, organ, recorder, and clarinet. The organ was her favorite instrument, which she played in church for many years. She was a faithful Christian.

As a child, Sharon’s family moved from New Jersey to Florida. At the age of nine, she contracted polio. She was placed in a home for children with disabilities and endured a series of surgeries on her right leg. During those difficult years away from her family, she especially missed her mother. She went on to attend Forest Lake Academy, graduating in 1958. Then she studied nursing at a college in Tennessee. There, she met Quinton Burks, who was studying theology and became a pastor.

Sharon married Quinton on August 27, 1961 in Florida. She devoted herself to supporting his pastoral ministry for forty years, serving as a volunteer church secretary, newsletter editor, music coordinator, and organist. The couple raised two children and traveled internationally, including a memorable trip to the 1975 General Conference Session in Vienna, Austria. Quinton retired in 2003, and they celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2011. He passed away in 2012.

In the 1980s, Sharon was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, compounding her earlier disabilities from polio. Despite increasing challenges, she never complained. She simply looked forward to the day when Jesus would give her a perfect, new body.

Sharon is survived by five siblings, her daughter and son and their spouses, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. She loved all of them dearly. She will be interred directly beside Quinton in Jefferson Memorial Gardens in Birmingham. One of her favorite hymns was “Face to Face with Christ My Savior.” Soon she will see His lovely face.