Jona Sharp Obituary

Oberlin-Mass of Christian burial honoring Jona Dena Sharp, 53, will be held on Wednesday morning, June 25, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Oberlin. Rev. Fr. Pradeep Gali will officiate. Jona will be laid to rest at St. Joseph Cemetery in Soileau, LA immediately following her services.
Jona's family will receive friends and visitors at Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Home of Oberlin on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, from 4-9 o'clock p.m. With the Holy Rosary being prayed at 6 o'clock p.m. Visitation will resume at Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Home of Oberlin at 8 o'clock a.m. until time of service. All of Jona's arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Home of Oberlin.
Selfless! That is the one word that describes Jona more than any other, Selfless. She was always making sure that everyone else around her was taken care of before she was. She worked as a cook to help support her family and she always cooked the best meals, but it wasn't just the food that people came to get but to see her beautiful smile and her bubbly personality that just made everyone around her smile.
Jona had a hard life, but she was the most beautiful soul that I have ever known. Her love of life and her ability to forgive and give of herself had no limits. When we are taught that life begins in your heart and to bring joy to those who surround you this is Jona. She was fast to forgive and never stopped loving. She was "Mom and Aunt" to so many people and even though she was in pain and was hurting in her last years, Jona wanted to make sure that everyone else was taken care of before she was. Her number one goal was to make sure to get her children raised to a point that they could take care of themselves and each other.
Jona's happy place was outside Going to the creek, camping, cooking on the campfire, fishing and making sure that the bonfire was built just right. It had to be Big and last all night, because when the fire died down the visiting with her friends and loved ones had to stop for the night. She enjoyed being with Friends and family and the most important part was passing on her love of the outside to her Kids and her grandkids. Jona would spend hours working in her yard, growing her chickens, Roses and flowers and being outside with them with her kids and grandkids. Marcus, Jona's grandson, would come over and the first thing he wanted to do would be to grab his Maw Maw and feed the chickens.
Aunt and "Mother" to So many young kids that we can never count how many lives she touched. Jona always had a smile and kind words for everyone and there was never a kid that went hungry as long as I knew her. And no matter what was going on in her life, she would take time to console and listen to anyone.
Jona came into my life at a point that I had almost given up on Living. I had just had back surgery and was recovering and I had gotten to the point where I didn't want to live anymore. I was in severe pain, could barely walk and I had gone from traveling and seeing the world to sitting in my chair and being bitter and hating life not wanting to live anymore. Jona reached out to me through an online chat, and we started talking with each other by chatting and talking about our everyday issues. Over time we had a friendship blossom that later turned into a true love for each other. She was there for me and wasn't out for her. I would be dead today if this woman did not reach out to me.
God has a plan for us all. I know that If I didn't break my back and go through what I went through that I would have never slowed down long enough to allow Jona into my life. As a gift from Jona, I now have Children and Grandchildren I do not know what I could do without her, and I know I still have work to do before it is my time to be with Jona again.
Words cannot be enough to describe the beautiful Soul that we were blessed by God to be in our lives. Selfless to the end.
Those left to cherish Jona's memory include her mother, Mary Mavis Boulet; Her husband, Jeffery Paul Koonce; three sons, Harley James Sharp, Marvin Milton Sharp, and Cade Joseph Young; one daughter, Gabriella Dena Sharp; two sisters, Amy Michelle and Tammy Joe Cart; two grandchildren and a host of extended family members and friends.
Jona is preceded in death by her father, John Milton Guidry; her first husband, James Roland Sharp; and one sister, Deniece Louise Guidry.
Condolences and expressions of sympathy may be shared with Jona's family at www.ardoinfuneralhome.com or on Facebook-Ardoin/Allen Parish Funeral Homes.
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