Sharon Ann Kehoe died peacefully Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, at her home in Moscow after a long struggle with cancer. She was 72 and full of life to the very end.
A teacher, scholar and spiritual leader, she was director of the Campus Christian Center at the University of Idaho from 1997 until 2009.
She was born Dec. 20, 1947, in Huntington, W.Va., to Dr. Moyland Bernard Kehoe, an orthopedic surgeon, and Eileen Elizabeth O’Brien, a ballet mistress.
The family moved to Berkeley, Calif., where Sharon attended St. Augustine’s Elementary School. She loved making art and reading, snuggling up in her father’s study and cherishing the books he had on the shelves. Sharon then attended Holy Names High School in Oakland, Calif., where she competed on the debate team, performed in theatrical productions and, in her senior year, was elected class president.
As the daughter of an accomplished ballerina with her own ballet company, Sharon loved to dance from a young age. She and her mother often shared the stage, dazzling those who watched their graceful art in motion.
She attended San Jose State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in art and design. She was a “pompom girl,” a Dean’s Scholar and, in 1968, the “Winter Carnival Snow Queen.” Her favorite part of being queen was receiving a ski lift ticket for a week at Heavenly Valley, Calif.
After graduating, she moved to San Francisco where she was a graphic designer by day, and an accomplished performer at night, acting with the “Rent-a-Freaks” and dancing with “Tommy Hail,” which transformed into “Beach Blanket Babylon.”
Her passion for creativity took her to Paris, where she continued to work as a graphic designer and became part of the “Mother Earth’s Lost and Found,” an American hip restaurant. Later, in San Francisco, she managed Benetton stores.
Sharon’s love for learning led her to the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she earned a Masters of Arts in East-West psychology and a Ph.D. in transformative learning. It was there that she met Rob Snyder and began their journey together, sharing their love for philosophy and religion. They were married Aug. 25, 1990, in San Francisco by Dr. Rina Sirca, a Buddhist nun and their teacher.
Rob and Sharon sipped tea and planned their dreams to travel the world — something they would certainly do through the years, making great friends at every stop.
Sharon and Rob moved to Genesee in 1995 and, three years later, she began teaching at the University of Idaho as a professor of world religions. That summer, she and her husband led a group of UI students to Nepal. She positively impacted thousands of students over her years of teaching a first-year seminar called “The Sacred Journey.” She loved teaching her students about the diversity of religious traditions. Sharon became a scholar of Mary Magdalene, giving frequent talks about Mary’s role in early Christianity.
As director of the Campus Christian Center, she promoted diversity and acceptance of all people who walked through the doors. She was responsible for the re-covenanting service upon the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Idaho Institute of Christian Education (the center’s parent organization). She also organized a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the CCC. She introduced art, creativity and a more contemporary approach to campus ministry. The center adopted the motto of “Sanctuary, Shalom and the Sacred” while she was director.
In San Francisco, Sharon produced a documentary, “AIDS ZEN: The Story of the Maitri Hospice,” which described the first Zen hospice to serve people with AIDS.
In 2017, Sharon and Rob moved to Corfu, Greece, where they enjoyed the food, music and rich history of the Mediterranean. They moved back to Moscow in January 2019, soon after she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Despite her illness, Sharon continued to live life to the fullest, her smile a blossom, her laugh a call for joy and hope.
Sharon’s parents and oldest brother, Kevin Kehoe, died previously. She is survived by her husband, Rob Snyder, of Moscow; her brother, Brian Kehoe; and his wife, Denise, of Livermore, Calif.; and her sister, Maureen Kehoe, of Fairfax, Calif.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. March 14 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Moscow, where Sharon was a longtime member.
Sharon was at the heart of a deeply connected community that extended from her many friends in Paris to the deeply spiritual community she cultivated as a graduate student. Her friendships supported healing, transformation and powerful self-actualization. Sharon’s spiritual autobiography, “One Woman’s Way: A Self-Reflective Narrative,” will be published this year.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Dr. Sharon Kehoe scholar-in-residence memorial fund at the Campus Christian Center, 822 S. Elm St., Moscow, or to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 111 S. Jefferson St., Moscow.
