Leander Washington “L.W.” Sharp, Jr.

L.W. Sharp, Jr., died peacefully at his residence, early Sunday morning, 12/8/2019, after a brief illness. He was born on March 31, 1929 to the late Leander Washington Sharp, Sr. and Josie Bell Mullis Sharp in Hamptonville, NC. After graduating from Harmony High School in Harmony, North Carolina, LW went on to attend Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. After college, LW married Julia Ann Gaither, and they were married for 67 years. They had 4 daughters, Delaine Blinson (Mel), Mary Lou Rhodes (Tim), Carla Brewer (Mark) and Connie Sharp all of Raleigh, NC. He was preceded in death by a brother, Harold L. Sharp and sister, Hazel S. Barbour. LW began a long career in Sales. After raising his daughters and years after working for several other companies as a traveling food broker, LW, with the support of his wife, started his own company, Southern Brokerage Company, representing numerous food distributors. He went on to own this company until retirement. LW was a family man and supported his daughters in all their endeavors whether it was sports, Girl Scouts (which led to his love of camping), music or art. LW wanted the family to share in his love of camping, so he bought a tent. Even though tent camping was a disaster, he was not deterred and went on to buy a pop-up camper. There were camping trips to the mountains and the beach and the family did grow to enjoy it. Eventually, this family of six spent a month traveling from North Carolina to California in this pop-up camper. An experience we all still remember. LW Julia went on to buy an RV and enjoyed visiting 49 states with Washington State being the one they missed. LW thoroughly enjoyed watching his grandsons grow up- Jason Phillips (Beth), Casey Phillips, Josh Blinson (Meg) and Ryan Blinson (Kelly). He took pride in supporting them and participating in their lives. When he added a couple of “step-grandchildren”, Josh Rhodes (Jessica) and Jenna Papula (AJ), he did his best to get to know them and become a part of their lives too. He took pride in watching all of these grandchildren grow into adults and many of them start their own families. His great-grandchildren brought great joy to “Pop’s” life. He had 11 great grandchildren - Lily, Josie and Kyler Phillips (Jason); Elle, Clara, and Titus Blinson (Josh); Fletcher, Holt and Evie Blinson (Ryan); Jase Rhodes (Josh); and Jack Papula (Jenna). Throughout LW’s life, he was committed to giving back to his community and church. He was an active member for over 50 years in the Capital City Civitans. He served on the Board and won many awards over his longtime membership. Through Civitans, he became involved with Frankie Lemmon and Special Olympics of North Carolina. He raised money and volunteered tirelessly for both. He saw the benefits through his own eyes of Special Olympics since one of his grandsons was a Special Olympic Athlete (Casey Phillips). He was also a longtime member of Saint James United Methodist Church. He especially enjoyed the fellowship of the Methodist Men and was an active member for many years. As LW grew older and slowed down, he continued to enjoy his many friendships and made an effort to stay in touch with old friends far and near either by visiting, bi-weekly breakfast visits or long phone conversations. LW was a husband, father and friend and he was loved. He will be missed by all who knew him but he had no regrets and was ready to go to a better place which he repeatedly told his family over the last few weeks of his life. He is finally at home and at peace. God Bless. Funeral services will be held 11:00 am Tuesday at Saint James United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at Raleigh Memorial Park. The family will receive friends at the church on Tuesday from 10:00 am–11:00 am prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Saint James UMC, 3808 Saint James Church Road, Raleigh, NC 27604 or Transitions LifeCare, 250, Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607.