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Life story

" Sharon Eade Johnson, 76, passed away on 25 June 2026. Born on September 16, 1949, in Portland, Oregon, Sharon lived a life rich with love, adventure, and the warmth she carried wherever she went. She was a woman who climbed mountains — sometimes literally — and left an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know her.

Sharon’s early years were shaped by the Pacific Northwest, where her family’s roots ran deep. Growing up, she was part of a family that believed in the value of adventure and togetherness — values that stayed with her for life. Among her most treasured memories was the day she climbed Beacon Rock in Washington State alongside her mother and grandmother, marking her grandmother’s 80th birthday with the kind of bold, joyful gesture that defined the Eade spirit. Rising 848 feet above the Columbia River, Beacon Rock is one of the largest monoliths in North America — a towering landmark that demands both courage and determination from those who scale its switchback trail. That three generations of Eade women made the climb together speaks volumes about the family Sharon came from and the spirit she carried all her life.

Her family moved to Boise, Idaho and later to Atlanta, Georgia, where Sharon came into her own. At Therrell High School, she found her voice in the school band — music became a thread woven through her character, a testament to her discipline, creativity, and love of being part of something larger than herself. She graduated with the Class of 1967 and went on to attend a number of universities (The University of Texas at Arlington, Auburn University. where she met her husband, the University of Texas at Austin, The University of Alabama at Huntsville, the Medical College of Virginia where she obtained a degree in Medical Technology, and finally Mary Washington University where she obtained a BS in Computer Science.

After obtaining her degree in Medical Technology, she went to work in the laboratory at Mary Washington Hospital. When she was promoted to lead the Hematology Section in the lab, she was the youngest person by that time to be given such responsibilities. She really loved working at Mary Washington, but she could not handle working multiple different shifts almost every week. As a result, she transferred to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda MD where she participated in some of the early work on identifying the AIDS virus and cures for it.

After becoming tired of the commuting, she went back to school, this time at Mary Washington to obtain a degree in Computer Science. While at Mary Washington she became a cooperative education student with the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren. While a co-op she worked in the area of bacteriological warfare. When she graduated from Mary Washington, she went to work in the Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile Systems Department. By the time she retired, she was a member of the SLBM Fire Control Software Division.

In 1985 she, and her husband, became members of DOGS-East, Inc., a search and rescue (SAR) organization that uses trained dogs in the search of missing and lost people, remains of deceased individuals, victims of homicides, natural disasters, plane crashes, etc. She devoted almost every minute of her out-of-work life to working with DOGS-East on searches, maintaining, a small, but very busy volunteer organization, training new members of the organization, as well as giving seminars all up-and-down the East Coast. More information on her contributions there can be found on the OGS- East FaceBook site.

Sharon is survived by her devoted husband, Ed Johnson, her loving younger brother, Arthur Curtis Eade, and Kel, her last dog certified for human remains detection (HRD). She was preceded in death by her parents, Howard Robert Eade and Edith Bandy Eade.

Sharon’s life was a gift — to her husband, her brother, and all who were lucky enough to share a part of it. She will be remembered for her grace, her spirit of adventure, and the quiet strength with which she moved through the world.

She is dearly missed and forever loved. "