Sharon Gugel, 78, of Spearfish, SD, passed away on Thursday, July 1, 2021, at Monument Hospital, in Spearfish.

Born September 23, 1942, in McLaughlin, S.D., to Reinhold and Leola (Wecker) Gugel, Sharon's early life was shaped by living on a farm with her parents, four sisters (Iva, Mary Ann, Dorothy, Joan), and three brothers (Glenn, Don, and Jim).

Sharon graduated from high school in 1960 and then attended Northern State College (now University) in Aberdeen to study music. Her father's love of music, as well as an influential middle school music teacher who would eventually become her brother-in-law, and the fact that her mother and all four of her sisters were teachers, created a natural path to what would become 40 years of teaching music in South Dakota.

Sharon's first teaching job was in Eureka in 1964, and in the summer months she took classes, obtaining her master's degree in education, with emphasis in music and art, from Northern. She taught in Webster in 1967, and then started teaching in the Spearfish School District in the fall of 1968, where she would teach generations of students over the next 36 years. (After they retired, the five Gugel sisters determined they taught for a combined total of 189 years of teaching!)

Sharon taught junior high and high school vocal music and was also involved with madrigals, musicals, and high school variety shows through the years. She was instrumental in starting the high school art program at Spearfish High School, also instructed at Black Hills State College (now University), and was involved with many local, state, and national organizations, boards, and associations. Though she was often told high schoolers would not be able to handle the level of music and wide repertoire she expected them to perform, her choirs continuously proved that there was never a piece of music too "advanced" for them, thanks to Sharon's commitment to her craft and belief and respect in the abilities of her students.

Sharon retired as the SHS choir director in 2004, having inspired thousands of students to understand the power of music more deeply in the world and in their lives. To honor her years of service in passing on her love of music to students, Sharon was recognized with the 2014 Distinguished Service to Music Award by the South Dakota Music Education Association.

She was also instrumental in the creation and design of the Spearfish High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame, created in 2005 to recognize the importance and impact of the arts, to which many of her former students have been inducted.

In addition to her love of music and art, Sharon enjoyed traveling and set foot on every continent of the globe, with the exception of Antarctica, during her lifetime. She always considered travel an educational experience and used these opportunities to enhance the curriculum in her classroom, even creating a Fine Arts History course offering for students.

Sharon Gugel was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers, two sisters, one niece, one nephew, and one great-niece. She is survived by her sisters Mary Ann Clark and Dorothy Gugel; numerous nieces, nephews, and great-and great-great-nieces and nephews; and dear friends A.J. Johnson, Karen Hahn, Steve Aalbu, Sherry Ewing, Mimi Swisher, Lennis Larson, and Duane Tordoff.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, 2021, at Fidler-Isburg Funeral Home in Spearfish, with interment to follow in Rose Hill Cemetery in Spearfish. Viewing will be one hour prior to the service on Saturday.   In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established to benefit the Spearfish High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame.

Arrangements are under the care of the Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels and Isburg Crematory of Spearfish. Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com