Obituaries

Sharon J. Hart, 77, of Madison died on Sunday, March 9, 2025 in the Trauma and Life Support Center at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, where she had been a patient since Dec. 24, 76 days in all. Her husband of nearly 43 years, Joe, was at her side, as was their daughter Laura Mihajlov and Laura’s husband Peter when her long struggle ended peacefully.

Sharon’s final health crisis started with aortic aneurysm surgery on Nov. 20. She was recovering well at home until the weekend before Christmas, when a severe infection required emergency surgery on Christmas morning. She eventually was transferred to the Heart and Vascular Progressive Care Unit. However, a bacterial blood infection, kidney issues and double pneumonia necessitated her return to intensive care on Feb. 20 and her strength and chances of ever returning home steadily declined.

Sharon was born on Sept. 21, 1947 in Black River Falls to Donald and Margaret (Regez) Stromberg. As a toddler, Sharon contracted polio in one leg before a vaccine was available, and her parents brought her to the old UW Hospital for surgeries and therapy. She graduated from Black River Falls High School in 1965 and then moved to Madison as her sense of adventure took hold. A year later she met Kaye Robertson, who became her best friend for the rest of her life. Sharon worked at WPS Insurance on John Nolen Drive.

Sharon and Kaye took a vacation to Islamorada in the Florida Keys in 1972. A year later they quit their jobs and moved to Islamorada where Sharon worked the sunrise shift at a radio station. She later worked at a psychiatrist’s office while enjoying the laid-back lifestyle of the Keys. She eventually moved back to Madison. She went to work for Jim Burkhard, the developer of Tamarack Trails condominium complex on the far west side. She enjoyed working in the home construction and real estate business and in 1983 she took an accounting position at Midland Builders. The merger of Midland and Don Simon Homes in 2003 saw Sharon take a similar position at the newly formed Veridian Homes.

Sharon was feisty, smart and funny. She was progressive in her politics and unafraid to engage in friendly debate. She was a voracious reader of fiction; in her final years her goal was to read at least 100 books annually. She also loved British television and home improvement and travel shows on cable TV or streaming services. And she became addicted to nightly reruns of The Big Bang Theory. She also was an ardent Packers fan, though Brett Favre’s interceptions irritated her no end.

One of her artistic talents was cross-stitching, and every room in her home was enriched by the spectacular outdoor scenes that looked like paintings. Sadly, rheumatoid arthritis in her hands robbed her of the ability to do more. She then began to fill her days with books, crossword puzzles and doting on her grandsons, Jack Alexander and Callum Joseph. Jack, 7, enjoyed helping grandma in the kitchen, making cookies and other treats. Callum, 2, liked nothing more than a bottle and several books while rocking on Sharon’s lap. She loved those two boys with all her heart.

Sharon cherished her frequent spring trips to see Kaye and other friends in the Tampa area. She and Joe spent considerable time over the years in Tucson, particularly the Ventana Canyon foothills. Sedona, the Grand Canyon, the greater Phoenix area and the Sonoran Desert were among her favorite places. The Bahamas, Carolinas, southern California, Rocky Mountains, San Juan Islands and the Black Hills were among her other memorable trips with family and friends.

But topping the list was a 2008 excursion to Ireland with Madison friends Steve and Peg Arnold. Along the way they found the farmland in County Wicklow where one of Joe’s great-great-great grandfathers toiled before fleeing for the United States during the Great Famine in 1848.

Sharon and Joe met after a Wisconsin football game in 1979 when her cousin Bill Regez invited Joe to join his group at a table in Alt ‘n Bach’s bar along the Beltline. They married on a muggy and stormy afternoon at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on July 10, 1982. Kaye, of course, was the maid of honor.

Sharon was very proud of her Swiss heritage. Her great uncle, Jacob Regez, was one of the first cheesemakers from Switzerland to settle in Monroe. She and Joe also made frequent trips to New Glarus for dinner.

Sharon was preceded in death by her parents and a beloved aunt Helen (Regez) Baur. Survivors include her husband Joe, daughter Laura and son-in law Peter, and grandsons Jack and Callum of Madison; brothers Alan (Joyce) Stromberg of Rochester, MN, and Steve (Vicki) Stromberg of Tomahawk, WI; niece Shawn (Brian) Cook of Springtown, TX; nephews Jason (Jessie) Stromberg of Tomahawk; Ben (Melissa) Stromberg of Duluth, MN; and Ryan (Katie) Stromberg of Duluth. Also, great-niece Scout Stromberg of Tomahawk; great-nephews Tyler and Nolan Cook, who are stationed with the U.S. Navy in Virginia; Beau, Braxton and Breck of Tomahawk; and Quinn and Nico of Duluth; sister-in-law Mary Alice Hart of Freeport, IL., her dear friend Kaye Robertson of Riverview, FL; and a dear cousin Janice Hansen, 97, of Sun Prairie.

In keeping with Sharon’s wishes, there will not be a funeral or visitation. The family will hold a celebration of her life in late spring. Memorials to Sharon can be made to Ascension Living St. Joseph Village-CLF, 659 E. Jefferson St., Freeport IL 61032, attention Diane Cushman.

Sharon’s family loved her deeply. She was a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She will never be forgotten by those who most loved her.

The family would like to acknowledge all the doctors and nurses at UW Hospital who treated Sharon with dignity and loving care, particularly vascular surgeon Dr. Courtney Morgan, TLC physician Dr. Micah Long, vascular unit nurse Yanchen Lhamo and TLC nurse Amber Vozka and nurse communicator Andrea Roemer.

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com.

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

Verona Chapel

220 Enterprise Drive

608-845-6625