Sharon Madison Obituary

Madison, Sharon I. Educator and Pianist An untimely passing on December 11, 2017, surrounded by family at Mercy Hospital. Native of Chicago, she attended Holy Name of Mary Elementary School, Harlan High School, The Cosmopolitan School of Music and The American Conservatory of Music. She attended Hampton University and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education, along with a Performance Major in piano and a minor in flute. She also earned a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology from Wayne State University. Her Teachers Certification in Early Childhood Development was earned at DePaul University. She taught music at South Shore Elementary School, and then taught at a child-parent center in Chicago. For quite a number of years she was with the Department of Defense Overseas School Program, teaching in Zaragosa, Spain Karamursel, Turkey and Kaiser Slautern, Germany. Returning to the U.S., she taught music for many years in elementary K-6 and high school 9-12. Sharon specialized in pre-kindergarten "high risk" children before retiring. She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Sorority Lambda Mu Omega Chapter for 49 years at the time of her passing. Her first piano teacher was her father, Dr. Earl W. Madison, a Supervisor of Instrumental Music in Chicago. She studied advanced piano at Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts, and Sherwood Community Music School at Columbia College in Chicago. Sharon competed numerous times in the Chicago Amateur Piano Competition and also the Boston International Piano Competition She was a member of the R. Nathaniel Dett Club of Music and Allied Arts, a branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians. Sharon played a Bach Prelude at the club's November meeting and was planning on attending their National Convention in July of 2018, representing the club as a Piano Soloist. She also was a member of the Chicago Piano Club that meets for recitals at Piano Forte Studios. She has performed many recitals over the years with the Adult Chamber Ensemble at Sherwood coached by her currant teacher, Gerald Rizzer. She is survived by two brothers, Earl S. Madison, Paul C. Madison M.D. and his two daughters Lena and Jade Madison; her aunt, Delores Wilborn; and numerous cousins and friends. Viewing and Service will be held Saturday, December 30th. Visitation 10.00 a.m. Mass 11:00 a.m. at St. Thomas The Apostle Church, 5472 S. Kimbark Avenue, Chicago, IL.