Obituary - Sharon Harris Soldan

Sharon Harris Soldan, 62, of Richmond, Virginia, passed away at home on April 17, 2022. Surrounded and supported by family, colleagues, and friends, Sharon fought a courageous 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Our hearts are heavy with our loss, but we know she shines above with the love and joy with which she graced this earth. She was preceded in death by her parents, Hugh S. Harris and Virginia Seward Harris. She is survived by her husband of 29 years, Richard T. Soldan, and son, Christopher R. Soldan. She is also survived by her sister, Shirley Harris Sutton (Kendall), a niece, Carrie Evans (Brad), and a gorgeous grandniece, Ashby.

Born and raised in Richmond, she was a graduate of Freeman High School and Furman University. After graduation, she found her passion for travel and worked for American Express Travel for 32 years before finding her most enjoyable travel years with the Covington Travel team. During her 40-year career as a travel advisor, she visited over 50 countries on five continents. She used to say “every place was special in its own way.” On her last trip to Ireland with her husband and friends, she said, “the Irish landscapes were absolutely breathtaking!” Among her many trips, she remarked that one of the most amazing sites she had ever seen was the ancient city of Ephesus. She also wished to return to a few of her other favorite destinations in South Africa, New Zealand and the Languedoc region of France.

She met her husband, Richard, who was working for Royal Caribbean at the time and the two of them were the perfect fit by continuing to explore the wonderful places and people of the world. Beside Sharon’s passion for travel, she also enjoyed gardening and watching her beloved son, Christopher excel in academics and his many other activities, including achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. His wrestling accomplishments since the second grade were always exciting, but at the same time very tense for her. She rarely missed a day of his activities and based her work schedules around them.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, April 24, 2022 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Woody Funeral Home, 1771 N. Parham Rd., Richmond. A funeral service will take place at 2 p.m. Monday, April 25, 2022 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 903 Forest Avenue, Henrico, Va. 23229. She will be laid to rest on Tuesday, April 26 at 11 a.m. at Mount Crawford Cemetery in Mt. Crawford, Va. In lieu of flowers, contributions, may be made to support research pancreatic cancer / John Hopkins Pathology - https://craft.pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/donate , or mail contributions payable to Johns Hopkins University to Ralph H. Hruban, M.D., Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Carnegie 417, Baltimore, Md. 21287.