Brazos Valley would be short several successful charity organizations had it not been for the contributions of Sam Sharp, an 80-year-old Bryan resident who died Wednesday after about a two-year battle with leukemia.
Funeral services for Sharp will be 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Bryan, and a visitation will immediately follow.
Along with remembering him as the co-founder of the Community Foundation of the Brazos Valley and for playing an imperative role in getting Habitat for Humanity off the ground, those who knew him well said they won't forget his intriguing stories full of interesting detail, the always helpful and abundant financial advice he had to offer and his fun sense of humor.
Sharp, a Navy veteran, moved to Bryan in 1962 with his wife Frances Louise -- the couple went on to have three kids -- and began working as vice president and director of First Bank and Trust.
He held various business leadership positions in the community and ended his career as an attorney.
Rusleen Maurice, a close friend of the Sharp family, said she met him in 1989 while working to form the local Habitat for Humanity.
Over the years, their families celebrated birthdays and milestones together, she said
"I feel so fortunate to have had so many good memories with him," Maurice said. "He had a memory of nobody I've ever known. I'll miss the funny stories he could tell and the unique observations he could make about people and places and things."
About two or three weeks ago, Sharp stopped receiving treatment for his cancer because of the toll it was taking on his body, Maurice said.
"What bothered him more than anything in recent months was his hearing had become impaired and it frustrated him that he couldn't go out and talk to people," she said.
Maurice was able to visit her friend one last time last week.
"His death is going to leave such a void in the community and in my life personally," she said.
Along with his wife and three children, Sharp is survived by his sister, a brother-and-law, a niece and several nephews.
The family is asking the public to perform a random act of kindness in memory of their loved one.
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