Martha Sharp

The Reverend Martha Sharp departed this life on Sunday, January 19, 2020 in Toppenish, Washington. She was 92 years old. Martha was born in Shelby, Texas to Jeff Davis Duffield and Rosie Lee Duffield on Oct. 17, 1927. She married Cleo Sharp in Carthage, Texas, in 1942, a marriage that lasted 49 years. The couple made a home in Toppenish, Washington, where both found employment with the Del Monte Company (Martha worked at the plant for 40+ years before she retired in 1999). They joined the Full Gospel Temple of Prayer Church and served that congregation faithfully for several decades. Martha was called into the ministry in July of 1946. Years later this call to ministry eventually evolved into her ordination and installation as pastor of her home church. She served the congregation until health concerns prohibited her. Family and friends remember her sense of humor, her wonderful cooking skills, her love for singing gospel songs, her devotion to her daughter, granddaughter, and great -grandchildren, and her dedication to her church and to her Lord. Rev. Sharp was predeceased in death by her husband, Cleo, in 1991; by her only daughter, Betty Steward Pardo in 2004; by brothers A.G. Duffield, J. D. Duffield, Roosevelt Duffield, David Duffield, and A.C. Duffield; and by sisters Ruby Lee Duffield Archer, Mary Jean Duffield, and Irma Jean Duffield. She is survived by a granddaughter, Monique Steward Torres of Toppenish; brothers Walter Duffield and Earl Duffield, of St. Augustine, Texas, and sisters Wilda Dean Goodwin, Rosie Faye Duffield, and Pastor Maggie Duffield Perkins, all of Houston, Texas; five great- grandchildren, Vincent Steward of Ferndale, WA, Nicole Steward of Bellingham, WA; Michelle Steward of Yakima, WA and, Andre and Tiffany Steward of Toppenish, WA; seven great- grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and a host of relatives and friends. She is also survived by her friend and former co-worker, Herb Coyer of Yakima, who cared for her in the final years of her life. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Martha Sharp, please visit our flower store.