Hanford has lost a beloved community champion as Janet Sharp passed away at Adventist Medical Center on Sunday, April 19, 2026. She was 91. Born in Hanford on September 7, 1934, she was the daughter of Bill and Dorothy Cackler. The eldest of four girls, she grew up with Linda and the twins, Diane and Donna, in a happy, bustling home. Her grandparents, Dan and Eva Cackler, lived across from them on Porter Street and her childhood was full of school and outdoor activities, sports, church and fun with cousins and friends.

Janet excelled at school and was a gifted athlete. She was a member of the Hanford High Class of 1952 and was a Valley Champion finalist in girls' tennis in 1951. She went on to Fresno State, earning an undergraduate degree and teaching credential, and was elected to membership of Tokalon Women’s Honors Society. After college, she taught Physical Education at Fresno High School and Los Altos High School. There was a boy in her kindergarten class at Jefferson School named Sid Sharp. While he went on to Hamilton School and she stayed at Jefferson, they were reunited at Woodrow Wilson Junior High. She invited him to a Job’s Daughter’s dance in Eighth Grade, and it was the beginning of an exemplary partnership and love affair that lasted until Sid’s death in 2014. Janet and Sid were made for each other. They ran Y Camps at Lake Sequoia, led youth groups at church, competed in mixed doubles tennis tournaments throughout the Valley, raised a family, traveled, and were involved in a variety of charitable and volunteer endeavors. While Janet supported Sid in his real estate interests and law practice, she was also heavily involved in improving Hanford and the world through service to youth. She started as a Cub Scout Den Mother in 1968 and advanced to be Vice Chair of the National Cub Scout Committee of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), a position she held for 24 years. In recognition of her service she was awarded the Silver Buffalo, the BSA’s highest volunteer honor, and inducted into the Hanford High School Hall of Fame. Janet was also an active leader at her lifelong church home, First Christian Church of Hanford. She sung in the choir for 50 years, directed many Vacation Bible Schools, chaired committees and was serving as Board Clerk at the time of her death.

She is survived by her children: William “Bill” Sharp of Woodbridge, California and his wife, Debra; Diane Sharp of Colorado Springs, Colorado and her husband, Randy Edwards; and Robert “Bob” Sharp of Clovis, California; nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Chee Wai Kwan came to live with the Sharps as a foreign exchange student from Malaysia in 1978 and Janet and Sid wouldn’t let him go. He and his wife, Fa, reside in Anaheim Hills, California, and have provided two more grandchildren! Janet is also survived by her sisters and their families, who have remained close, geographically and otherwise, their entire lives; Linda Hannah of Clovis, Donna Yeary of Hanford and Diane Fake of Fresno.

A celebration of her long and fruitful life will be held this Friday, April 24, 2026, at First Christian Church, 505 West Cameron Street, Hanford at 11:00 a.m.

Memorial Donations may be directed to Janet’s favorite causes: First Christian Church of Hanford and Sequoia Council, Boy Scouts of America.