Sharon Armke

Sharon Armke, age 69, of Dripping Springs went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Monday, December 13, 2021. She is preceded in death by her parents Walter E. and Zadie Hodges, brothers Waylon C. Hodges, Philip Hodges, and Loyd M. Hodges and by a nephew Milton Chance Armke.

Sharon was born January 9, 1952 in Abilene, Texas but soon moved to Odessa where she started the first grade. While in the 2nd grade her family moved to the Florence, Alabama area where she grew up on a small farm and attended Lexington schools through the 11th grade before graduating from Bradshaw High School (Class of 1970) in Florence. She returned to Texas to study Elementary Education at Abilene Christian University (Class of 1974). Sharon then took a teaching job with Austin ISD at Zilker Elementary (1974-1980).

Sharon married James Clay Armke on July 10, 1976. The couple moved to Abilene in 1980 where she focused on starting and raising a family. They were blessed with three children, Julia (1984), Eric (1987) and William (1989). In 1994 the family relocated to Owasso, Oklahoma where she became a Cub Scout Den Mother and taught one year (1999-2000) at Hope Harbor in Claremore. In August 2000 the family moved to Austin, Texas where she worked one year as a Librarian at Brentwood, a Church of Christ private school. She then taught Pre-K at Linder Elementary for Austin ISD through the 2011-2012 school year. The following year she transferred to the new Uphaus Early Childhood Center for 2012-2013.

Sharon was a Christian Activist who fought hard for the Lord in the Public Arena. During the 1980s she participated in Pro-Life activities where she helped establish and then became the Director for the Pregnancy Counseling Center. Her work saved many unborn babies from abortion. In the early 1990s she worked to get the State of Texas to establish abstinence as the standard for teaching sex education in public schools even traveling to Austin to testify before Senate Subcommittees. Following her retirement from teaching, she worked with the Austin based Concerned Parents of Texas to promote use of Judeo-Christian principles in sex education curriculum for public schools and testified multiple times before various Legislative Subcommittees at the state capitol. In 2018, she ran for the Dripping Springs school board to promote these principles locally.

Survivors include her husband, James Clay Armke; children, Julia King (Jarrod), Eric Armke, and William Armke; grandchildren, Andrew King and Clara King; siblings, Walter A. Hodges (Thelma), Sandra Watson (Steve), Barbara Martin (George) and Beverly Stonecipher; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Friday, December 17, 2021 at Crofts – Crow Funeral Home in Blanco, TX where funeral services will be held in the Chapel at 2:00 PM Saturday December 18, 2021. Interment will follow in the Historic Blanco Cemetery.