Karen Louise Sharp

Karen Louise (Snead) Sharp, 65, of Chincoteague Island, Virginia, passed away on July 28, 2025, at her home. She was born on February 4, 1960, in Salisbury, Maryland, to the late Harold R. Snead, Sr., and Evelyn B. (Hickman) (Snead) Mittle, who is still living.
Karen was a graduate of Wicomico Senior High School class of 1978, but had also attended Chincoteague Elementary from 1967 to 1970. She attended Union Baptist Church and was a part of the Daughters of Ruth Sunday School class for the last several years. While employed in several occupations since her graduation and marriage to Michael T. Sharp in August 1978, she most enjoyed her time with the Island Library, where she eventually served as manager for a short time before retiring in 2022.
While not born on Chincoteague, she did spend a number of years on and off being raised on the island, while also living in Fruitland, Baltimore, and Salisbury, Maryland, due to her father’s employment. Her connection to the island was strong, as many islanders were blood relatives, eventually drawing her and her family back to the island to live full-time in 2016.
Karen was an avid reader and collector of books of various genres while also enjoying time with her family and her most recent pet cat, Willow. She was preceded in death by her father, Harold R. Snead, Sr., her grandmother Margaret Isabelle (Scarborough) (Hickman) Hill, great-grandmother Margaret Evelyn (Birch) Scarborough, great-grandfather Edmond Y. Scarborough, grandmother Lottie Elizabeth (Watson) Snead, grandfather Norman Snead, her uncles Everette J. (Buddy) Snead and Claude Snead, all of Chincoteague.
She is survived by her husband Michael T. Sharp, I, her daughter Melissa L. Sharp, her son Michael T. Sharp, II, her mother Evelyn B. (Hickman) (Snead) Mittle, her step-father Ernest Mittle, her brother Norman C. Snead, Sr. and his wife Rene J. (Carmine) Snead, her sister Paula J. Snead, her brother Harold R. Snead, Jr., several nephews, nieces, and cousins.
There will be no formal service as per her wishes, with only a small family gathering at a location to be determined. The disposition of her ashes will be determined by the immediate family at a later date.
Condolences may be made online at www.salyerfh.com, and anyone wanting to plant a Memorial Tree in her memory may do so by visiting Salyer’s Sympathy Store online. Services entrusted to Salyer Funeral Home, Inc., on Chincoteague Island, VA.

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