The Indianapolis StarIndianapolis, Indiana
October 30, 1997; Page 25
GREENCASTLE, Ind. --- Frances Dixon Sharer Smith, 83, Greencastle, among the first 300 nurses to be commissined by the U.S. Navy, died Oct. 29.
A graduate of Norton Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Louisville, Ky., Mrs. Smith had been a public health nurse in Vevay and in Kentucky before being commissioned an ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps in 1939. While stationed in Norfolk, Va., she met and married Walter Sharer but had to resign her commission because Navy nurses were not allowed to get married. She then was a public health nurse in a Navy hospital in Norfolk.
After the submarine her husband was serving on was lost a sea in 1941, she returned to Indiana.
A former registered nurse at Methodist Hospital, she also did private duty nursing and served as a school nurse.
Mrs. Smith was honored earlier this month by the Department of Veterans Affairs for her contributions to the Navy. In addition, her name is being archived in the Women in Military Service for American memorial in Arlington, Va.
A son, Don Sharer, who survives, was assigned by the Navy to the U. S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, in 1979, when he became one of the 52 hostages held for 444 days until being released Jan. 20, 1981.
Surviving are her children, Don Sharer, Rob Sharer, William Smith and Sally S. Smith; sisters, Gladys Dodd, Bernice Humphrey; a brother, John Dixon; and three grandchildren. She was the widow of Walter Sharer and John W. Smith.
October 30, 1997; Page 25
GREENCASTLE, Ind. --- Frances Dixon Sharer Smith, 83, Greencastle, among the first 300 nurses to be commissined by the U.S. Navy, died Oct. 29.
A graduate of Norton Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Louisville, Ky., Mrs. Smith had been a public health nurse in Vevay and in Kentucky before being commissioned an ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps in 1939. While stationed in Norfolk, Va., she met and married Walter Sharer but had to resign her commission because Navy nurses were not allowed to get married. She then was a public health nurse in a Navy hospital in Norfolk.
After the submarine her husband was serving on was lost a sea in 1941, she returned to Indiana.
A former registered nurse at Methodist Hospital, she also did private duty nursing and served as a school nurse.
Mrs. Smith was honored earlier this month by the Department of Veterans Affairs for her contributions to the Navy. In addition, her name is being archived in the Women in Military Service for American memorial in Arlington, Va.
A son, Don Sharer, who survives, was assigned by the Navy to the U. S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, in 1979, when he became one of the 52 hostages held for 444 days until being released Jan. 20, 1981.
Surviving are her children, Don Sharer, Rob Sharer, William Smith and Sally S. Smith; sisters, Gladys Dodd, Bernice Humphrey; a brother, John Dixon; and three grandchildren. She was the widow of Walter Sharer and John W. Smith.
The Indianapolis StarIndianapolis, Indiana
October 30, 1997; Page 25
GREENCASTLE, Ind. --- Frances Dixon Sharer Smith, 83, Greencastle, among the first 300 nurses to be commissined by the U.S. Navy, died Oct. 29.
A graduate of Norton Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Louisville, Ky., Mrs. Smith had been a public health nurse in Vevay and in Kentucky before being commissioned an ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps in 1939. While stationed in Norfolk, Va., she met and married Walter Sharer but had to resign her commission because Navy nurses were not allowed to get married. She then was a public health nurse in a Navy hospital in Norfolk.
After the submarine her husband was serving on was lost a sea in 1941, she returned to Indiana.
A former registered nurse at Methodist Hospital, she also did private duty nursing and served as a school nurse.
Mrs. Smith was honored earlier this month by the Department of Veterans Affairs for her contributions to the Navy. In addition, her name is being archived in the Women in Military Service for American memorial in Arlington, Va.
A son, Don Sharer, who survives, was assigned by the Navy to the U. S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, in 1979, when he became one of the 52 hostages held for 444 days until being released Jan. 20, 1981.
Surviving are her children, Don Sharer, Rob Sharer, William Smith and Sally S. Smith; sisters, Gladys Dodd, Bernice Humphrey; a brother, John Dixon; and three grandchildren. She was the widow of Walter Sharer and John W. Smith.
October 30, 1997; Page 25
GREENCASTLE, Ind. --- Frances Dixon Sharer Smith, 83, Greencastle, among the first 300 nurses to be commissined by the U.S. Navy, died Oct. 29.
A graduate of Norton Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Louisville, Ky., Mrs. Smith had been a public health nurse in Vevay and in Kentucky before being commissioned an ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps in 1939. While stationed in Norfolk, Va., she met and married Walter Sharer but had to resign her commission because Navy nurses were not allowed to get married. She then was a public health nurse in a Navy hospital in Norfolk.
After the submarine her husband was serving on was lost a sea in 1941, she returned to Indiana.
A former registered nurse at Methodist Hospital, she also did private duty nursing and served as a school nurse.
Mrs. Smith was honored earlier this month by the Department of Veterans Affairs for her contributions to the Navy. In addition, her name is being archived in the Women in Military Service for American memorial in Arlington, Va.
A son, Don Sharer, who survives, was assigned by the Navy to the U. S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, in 1979, when he became one of the 52 hostages held for 444 days until being released Jan. 20, 1981.
Surviving are her children, Don Sharer, Rob Sharer, William Smith and Sally S. Smith; sisters, Gladys Dodd, Bernice Humphrey; a brother, John Dixon; and three grandchildren. She was the widow of Walter Sharer and John W. Smith.
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