Sr. William Mitchell “Bill” Sharp

William Mitchell “Bill” Sharp, passed away December 28, 2021, in Leawood, KS. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, January 6, 2022 at Visitation Catholic Church, 5141 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64112. Bill’s wishes were for cremation.

Bill was born a Christmas baby on December 25, 1950 to Clay LaValle Sharp and Ruby Stoner Sharp of Sikeston, Missouri. Bill lived his life as though there were only three seasons of the year: football season, basketball season, and baseball season. He graduated from Sikeston Senior High School in 1969 and his beautiful mother passed away a year later while he was a freshman at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. He married his childhood sweetheart, Sandra Mayfield Sharp, on June 7, 1972 and graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1973, receiving a Bachelors degree in Business. When he was young he enjoyed boating and water skiing, playing basketball and attending ball games for the Missouri Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals as well as enjoyed volunteering with the Sikeston Jaycees. He lived in Clarksville and Hazen, Arkansas in the 1980s before moving home to Sikeston, Missouri in 1990, after his wife experienced a traumatic brain injury and became disabled in a car accident in 1987. While in Sikeston, he served on the board of the local soup kitchen and enjoyed sampling all the local barbecue he could eat.

Bill worked for Montgomery First National Bank for over 10 years as their Executive Vice President and enjoyed raising his two children in the same boyhood home he’d grown up in. He coached his sons baseball teams and taught his kids to shoot hoops. He coached youth league basketball for over 25 years. He raised his kids right - hanging on the back end of his golf cart while he played a quick 9 holes. He was an avid golfer, winning numerous club tournaments with his famous long putts.

Bill and Sandra moved to Hannibal, Missouri in 2003 where Bill was named President of F&M Bank. He served as the President of the Lions Club. He became a doting grandfather for the first time in 2010. Then in 2011 he was named Chief Credit Officer of Hawthorn Bank and moved to Jefferson City. Bill was a member of the Missouri Bankers Association most of his adult life and worked in executive positions at some of the most prominent and well-respected banks in the state.

Bill spent 34 years taking care of Sandra after her accident and was her sole caregiver until the end of his life. His testament to her and to his family was unwavering as he wanted nothing more than to take care of those he loved. He was a man who naturally commanded respect as he equally gave it to those in return. He had high expectations for those around him, yet he was patient, kind, and the most generous man you’d meet.

Bill is survived by his wife, Sandra Sharp of Kansas City, Missouri, his son, William Mitchell Sharp, Jr. and wife Jessica of South Carolina, his daughter, Elizabeth (“Betsy”) Sharp Lynch and husband Jake of Kansas City, Missouri, his brother and sister-in-law, Val and Christina Sharp of Naples, Florida, and 4 grandchildren, Jimmy, Kathy Madge, & Billy Lynch and Zoey Sharp. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Westminster Fund, which provides scholarships for students attending Westminster College. Memorial gifts may be made to Westminster College, Attn: Business Office, 501 Westminster Avenue, Fulton, MO 65251, and please note “Westminster Fund” on the gift.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, January 6, 2022 at Visitation Catholic Church, 5141 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64112. Bill’s wishes were for cremation.