Friends praise her talent, vibrant personality
By LISA CRAWFORD WATSON
Herald correspondent
Article Last Updated: 01/09/2008 01:28:59 AM PST
Sharon Campbell, a renowned pastry chef who spent the past 18 years working for the Monterey Plaza Hotel, died Dec. 26. She was 51.
Campbell collapsed on the beach Dec. 17 after an early-morning swim in Monterey Bay, said her family. She died nine days later of a cerebral aneurysm.
Adam Campbell, her 27-year-old son, said his mother had thrown one of her signature parties for friends and family the night before she collapsed.
"The party was amazing," he said. "She really went all out for it. My brother and I were there and all night we heard her laughing, having the time of her life."
Born in Highland, Mich., and raised in what her sons call the "Harvard area," she flew to Mexico at age 15 to baby-sit for six months, graduated from high school two years early and entered the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.
There, she met Douglas Campbell, currently a saucier in Carmel, with whom she later had four children — Josh, Adam, Emily and Zach — before the marriage ended.
"Sharon had absolutely phenomenal talent as an artist, and her work ethic, professional spirit and love of life you will find in very few individuals," said John Narigi, general manager at Monterey Plaza. "Her shoes will be hard to fill here, both personally and professionally."
Shortly before her final swim, Sharon and her staff had spent more than 200 hours creating a 6-foot tall chocolate hotel, constructed of gingerbread and surfaced in chocolate, based on the actual blueprints of Monterey Plaza — down to the smooth facade and bright flowers, the balconies and bowers, the signs and dolphin sculpture.
"When it came to her profession, Sharon was one of the best," said Executive Assistant Manager Doug Phillips. "She was always moving, always giving. She just loved life. She was vibrant. The void at the hotel is tremendous."
The chocolate replica of the hotel will be preserved under glass, Phillips said.
An avid traveler, runner, surfer and swimmer, Campbell joined the local outrigger canoe club, Ke Kai O'Uhane, four years ago. The club is renowned for its success in the Race Across Monterey Bay, the Catalina Canal crossing and, most notably, The Queen's Race, an 18-mile competition along the Kona Coast off the island of Hawaii.
On Feb. 2, Campbell's teammates will climb into their canoe off Del Monte Beach and, leaving seat No. 5 empty, will paddle out to sea with floral leis to honor her.
"She was a rock, all about character — strength, honor and truth," said Paula White, a wildlife biologist and teammate with the outrigger club. "She felt she should earn other people's respect and that others should earn hers. She followed her spirit.
"She is irreplaceable, as a person, as a paddler, as a chef, as an athlete, as a mother, as a friend. What other six people can we come up with to fill her shoes?"
2 comments:
Sharon was one of the most selfless people I knew. What energy! WHat enthusiasm and what a love that she had for her four children! We were friends for 15 years and I will miss her so much. No shoes can fill hers.
Sharon died 3 years ago tonight, and I am stunned. She worked for and with me for several years in my take-out/catering/restaurant in B'ham, Al., and she was everything to us. She was fully devoted to her family, her children, her work, her joie de vivre. She ran her first marathon while working for us, and we were in every way so proud of her, so enamored by her sweet, strong spirit. I have missed her so much over these many years. The whole world is lessened by her absence. We are all richer, however, for having had her in our world.
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