615-876-2005

Sharon died in March, 2015. Her original biography is shown below:

Glory be! Things have really changed. I became an elementary school teacher and taught for ten years. Had my own business selling crystal for eight years while I was teaching.

While in Nashville I was offered the job of Executive Director of the Nashville Adult Literacy Council in 1982, a position I held for almost 18 years. During that time I recruited and directed the training of more than 4,000 volunteer literacy tutors, and together we improved the reading skills of some 5,000 adults. A heart disability forced me to resign in April 2000. After I got back on my feet a little bit, I started a brand new program in the county where I now live (just 30 min. northwest of Nashville). My specialty is learning disabilities, which I have spoken about at just about every literacy conference since 1990. That same year my program was honored with an award for the First National Model for Family Literacy by the Barbara Bush Family Literacy Foundation.

Truly, I have had more than my share of very special moments. Actually, I was invited to the White House three times and Mrs. Bush visited my program twice. It was so cool to answer my kitchen phone early one Saturday only to hear, "This is the White House. Is Sharon Hollaway available to talk to Mrs. Bush?" She can't believe I have started another program.

My first marriage started in 1969 and produced John-Paul and ended 12 years later. My second marriage gave me two girls from my hubby’s first. John-Paul is now 34, married, and has given us two grandchildren. John-Paul is a high school history teacher and lives close by. He is also now a county commissioner. Lori is 37 and has her own PR-marketing company outside Raleigh. She and her husband are expecting their first child in September 2007. Our youngest is 33, married, and a kindergarten teacher in Nashville. My husband, Lee, is a retired editor for Thomas Nelson Publishers. He still does contract editing for various local companies.

Did you know I was adopted when I was two weeks old? With my dad’s help we found my birth mother in 1988. We found my half-sister and half-brother in 1997. I'm writing a book about that experience.