Sharon Napolitano, 63

Red Oak native Sharon K. Napolitano, 63, Hamden, Conn., beloved wife of Philip and loving mother of Kathryn and John, passed through death to life with Christ forever Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026.
Sharon Kristina Almquist, the daughter of Erland Lincoln and Elinor Frances Chase Almquist, was born Oct. 13, 1962, in Red Oak. She was baptized and confirmed at Bethlehem Lutheran Church and graduated from Red Oak Community High School in 1981.
She learned from a young age the value of work and grew up delivering the Omaha World Herald morning newspaper, working in soybean and hay fields, driving tractors, mowing lawns, and working for McDonald’s Restaurant throughout her high school and college career. As a college student, she also worked at Hardee’s for four years to pay her way through school, graduating in 1985 from Iowa State University, Ames, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
On June 2, 1990, Sharon was united in marriage to Philip Lynch Napolitano at Trinity Lutheran Church, Milford, Conn., and to this union two children, Kathryn Kristine and John Vincent, were born. She and Phil showed great interest in the lives of their children, attending their extracurricular activities and encouraging them both to graduate from college and pursue their dreams. Sharon was devoted to her family, including her yellow labs, Frannie and Nellie. She loved New England but was fiercely proud of her Iowa farmgirl roots.
Sharon’s lifelong writing and editing career began in newspapers in 1984 with a summer internship at the Shenandoah Evening Sentinel. In 1985, she was employed as a reporter, columnist, and photographer for the Cedar Valley Times in Vinton. In 1988, she moved to Connecticut and joined the reporting staff of the Milford Citizen.
In 1990, she became involved in medical writing and editing for health communication companies and later healthcare systems, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and the Yale–New Haven Health System. She was a freelance writer and the editor of Saint Raphael’s Better Health magazine for four years. Sharon also worked in foundation relations for Masonic Charity Foundation. Until January 2026, she was employed by Yale–New Haven Health System as a communications coordinator of marketing and communications.
Sharon fought health battles, surviving breast cancer in 2015 and two major back surgeries in 2023, twice having to relearn how to walk. She endured cancer’s return a second time in 2023, fighting with courage and grace.
In Hamden, she was an active member of Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and its pre-merger congregation, Christ Lutheran, serving on the church council and as outreach chair and in other capacities.
Sharon enjoyed traveling, reading, and camping trips with her family. She was a rock music enthusiast and enjoyed attending concerts over the years—as many as 200—such as concerts by Queen, the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, Chicago, and Seattle-based grunge bands. Sharon played the piano and alto saxophone and took guitar lessons. Since junior high school she was a competitive bowler and bowled later in community leagues; she was also an avid roller skater.
Among those left to cherish her memory are her husband, Phil; daughter, Kathryn (Nate Bushmaker) Napolitano; son, John (Katherine Chwe) Napolitano; mother, Elinor Almquist; brother, Dennis (Brenda) Almquist; sister, Mary (Wallace) Wanek; sisters-in-law, Ellen Frost, Alice (Michael Markowitz) Napolitano; brothers-in-law, Dan (Judy) Schweer, Jim (Lorraine) Napolitano, Jim Elliott, Anthony (Theresa) Napolitano; and numerous nieces and nephews, including Carly Almquist, Lane Almquist, Brian (Stephanie) Schweer, Lynn Schweer, and many others.
She was preceded in death by her father, Erland Almquist; father- and mother-in-law, James Vincent and Mary Alice Napolitano, sister, Diane (Almquist) Schweer; sisters-in-law, Nancy Elliott and Agnes Napolitano; and nephew, Matthew Nunno as well as other relatives.
Services will be held at Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 600 Shepard Avenue, Hamden, Conn., at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, with visitation Friday Feb. 13, at Beecher and Bennett Funeral, 2300 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, Conn. A local visitation and memorial service will be held in Red Oak at a later date, with Sellergren-Lindell-DeMarce Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. Interment will be in the Evergreen Cemetery.
For a complete obituary and memorial information, please refer to the website www.beecherandbennett.com.