Sharon B. Hart

Sharon B. Hart, 83, a longtime rural Stewartville, MN resident, died on Tuesday (November 10, 2026) of natural causes at Cascade Creek Memory Care in Rochester, MN.

Sharon Bernice Pratt was born on August 14, 1943 in Litchfield, MN to Roy and Viola (Hukriede) Pratt. She attended school in Litchfield through 8th grade.  Starting in 9th grade the family moved to Blooming Prairie, MN and Sharon graduated from Blooming Prairie High School in 1961. Sharon was married on September 28, 1963 in Albert Lea, MN to Duane F. Hart.

The couple lived on the family farm east of Stewartville. Sharon was a farm wife and homemaker and was first employed as Food and Beverage Manager secretary at the Kahler Hotel in Rochester, MN. She continued her secretarial career working for Tim Berg Law Office in Stewartville and then for the Stewartville School District working at the High School and Bonner Elementary where she was the Special Ed Secretary. She joined the team at ZED (Zumbro Education District) as the Secretary/Office Manager.  Upon semi-retirement from ZED she worked for a few years at Budget – Rent-a- Car at the Rochester International Airport. Duane was a lifelong farmer and died on February 14, 1998. Sharon continued to make her home on the family farm until moving to Cascade Creek Memory Care in October 2025.

She was a longtime active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church, serving on the Alter Guild for over 40 years. In later years she enjoyed helping with Vacation Bible school for several summers.  She was a 4-H Club Leader while her children were in 4-H and coached the Clubs girls softball team. She served from 1987 to 2011 as an elected representative with Peoples Cooperative Power Board, a position she took great pride in. She enjoyed being outside in her flower gardens each summer, mowing her lawn and keeping up with things going on around the farm. She loved time spent with her family, especially her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  There was rarely an event she would miss for her kids and grandkids whether it be a sporting event, band or choir concert, or a play.  She was always there cheering everyone on.  She enjoyed the many summer trips to northern Minnesota to the lake or going to northern Wisconsin for a yearly snowmobile trip.  Even after Duane’s passing, Sharon continued to join her kids, grandkids and eventually great-grandkids on their annual August trip to Gull Lake, a trip that included lots of laughs and memories made with family and close friends.

The family would also like to thank the amazing staff at Cascade Creek for the wonderful, compassionate care they showed Sharon while she was there.  We knew we had her in the right place from the minute we moved her there.  We would also like to thank the wonderful staff at Mayo Clinic Hospice for the care and compassion they showed mom these last few months. Your guidance through all this was greatly appreciated.

Sharon is survived by her daughter and son– Heidi (Dale) Schmitz of rural Stewartville and Doug (Diane) Hart of rural Stewartville; 5 grandchildren – Cory (Missy Kubista) Schmitz, Michael (Sarah) Schmitz, Madisen, Bobbie and Jamisen Hart; 5 great grandchildren – Hailee, Jackson and Kooper Schmitz, Kolten and Chase Hoffmann; 1 brother and 1 sister – Stanley (Delbra) Pratt of Taylorville, IL and Teresa (Stephen) Trumpold of Stewartville. She was preceded in death by her husband Duane, her parents and mother and father-in-law Lloyd and Lavina Hart.

A time of visitation for family and friends will take place on Sunday (November 15, 2026) from 2 to 5:00 PM at Griffin-Gray FH in Stewartville and 1 hr. prior to the service at the church on Monday morning. A funeral service for Sharon will take place at 11:00 AM on Monday (November 16, 2026) at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stewartville with Rev. Justin Kumfer officiating. Burial will be at Union Cemetery in Pleasant Grove Twsp. In lieu of flowers the family prefers donations to Alzheimer’s Research, Mayo Clinic Hospice or Cascade Creek Memory Care in Rochester. Arrangements are with Griffin-Gray F.H. in Stewartville. Condolences and memories of Sharon are welcome at www.griffin-gray.com. A livestream of the service will be available on the church website at www.stjohnsstewartville.org/watch. 

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