Sharon Louise Toland

Sharon Louise Toland

November 13, 1955 – July 2, 2026

Sharon Louise Toland, age 70, passed away on July 2, 2026, in Hugo, Oklahoma, surrounded by the family who loved and cared for her through the final chapter of her life.

Sharon was born on November 13, 1955, in Kansas City, to Joe and Louise Thomas.

To simply say that Sharon was a CNA does not begin to tell the story of a woman who spent much of her life caring for others. For decades, she worked in healthcare, offering comfort, dignity, and care to people during some of their most vulnerable moments. Caring for others was not merely the work Sharon did. It was woven into the life she lived.

At home, Sharon was the mother of four children and the heart of a busy family. While her husband, Claude Wayne Toland, spent countless miles on the road as a truck driver, Sharon carried much of the day-to-day responsibility of raising their family. She knew hard work, sacrifice, long days, and the kind of strength that is built when life leaves no choice but to keep going.

And Sharon kept going.

She was strong. She was stubborn. She was fiercely independent. She could be dramatic, opinionated, funny, frustrating, loving, and unforgettable, sometimes all before lunch. She faced more than her share of hardship, but she remained unmistakably Sharon through it all.

Above everything else, Sharon loved her family.

Her greatest legacy is not found in a job title or a list of dates. It lives in the children she raised, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren who carry her story forward, the patients she cared for throughout her career, and the family who surrounded her when it became her turn to be cared for.

During the final months of her life, Sharon faced Stage IV cancer with her family beside her through countless appointments, hospital stays, an ICU admission, difficult answers, small victories, hard decisions, laughter, tears, and ultimately hospice care. After spending a lifetime caring for others, Sharon was able to spend her final chapter at home, surrounded by people who loved her enough to care for her in return.

Sharon is survived by her mother, Louise Thomas; her son, Terry Toland and wife Candice; her son, Tony Toland and wife Brandy; her daughter, Tammy Toland; and her daughter, Tina Turner and husband Chris.

She also leaves behind her grandchildren: Terry’s children, Terrance Toland, Christian Toland, Dawson Toland, and Taetum Cacy; Tony’s children, Taylor Ballard and husband Josh Ballard, Logan Toland, and Jordan; and Tammy’s children, Carter Eldred, Brandy Eldred, Zoe Tallent, and Brooklyn Tallent.

Sharon’s family continued to grow through multiple great-grandchildren, including Grayson and Daniel Toland, sons of Terrance; Ruby and Tucker Ballard, children of Taylor and Josh; Lilah, daughter of Brandy Eldred; and Brentlee and Ashlyn, children of Carter Eldred.

She is also survived by her brothers, James Thomas and wife Kay, and Richard Thomas and wife Alice; her sisters, Cathy Gardner and husband Gary, and Carol Tompkins; as well as numerous cousins, extended family members, and others whose lives she touched.

Sharon was preceded in death by her father, Joe Thomas; her husband, Claude Wayne Toland; her brother, Johnny Thomas; and her brother-in-law, Roger Tompkins.

There is no simple way to summarize seventy years of life. Sharon was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great-grandmother, caregiver, and friend. She spent years taking care of people who needed her. She raised a family. She loved, she fought, she endured, and she left behind a family that will never be quite the same without her.

Her work is finished now.

No more hospitals.

No more treatments.

No more fighting.

No more pain.

Just rest.

We will miss her stories.

We will miss her voice.

We will even miss the stubbornness that drove us all crazy.

Most of all, we will miss Sharon.

She spent her life caring for others, and in the end, she was surrounded by people who loved her enough to care for her in return.

Rest easy, Sharon.

We’ll take it from here.