David Sharp, MD

David L. Sharp, MD of Grand Rapids, MI passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, October 5 at age 83. We will miss the love and wisdom of this wonderful man who was a treasured family doctor, woodworker, gardener, philosopher, philanthropist, husband, father, and grandfather.

David Lyman Sharp was born in 1941 to Lyman and Violet Sharp of Mount Pleasant, PA. After his father’s early death, David attended Girard College, a boarding[BE1] school in Philadelphia, from third to twelfth grade. His Girard classmates remained lifelong friends. After graduation he returned to Western Pennsylvania and attended the University of Pittsburgh for college and medical school.

Dave married Barbara “Babs” Jones of Pittsburgh in 1964. He finished medical school in 1967 and began a Family Practice Residency at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, NJ. The Sharps’ daughter Martie and three sons Doug, Greg, and Andy were born at Hunterdon Medical Center over the next six years. After two years of private practice in Hopewell near Princeton, Dave set up his first solo office in a large Victorian farmhouse in rural Stanton, NJ. Dr. Sharp loved delivering babies, making house calls, and caring for people of all ages.

In 1979 Dave and Babs built a larger home office on a ten-acre[BE2] property a mile down the road. The office was staffed by three nurses and three receptionists who each worked two days a week while raising their children, an innovative model for the 1980s. Dave was elected President of Staff at Hunterdon Medical Center in 1980. Many former patients described him as their “favorite doctor of all time.”

In 1986 Dave and his family relocated to Michigan’s “Pleasant Peninsula.” They bought a house East Grand Rapids near Blodgett Hospital and Dr. Sharp worked for a local HMO before returning to private practice. In 1997 Dave and Babs moved to Houghton Lake, MI where Dave became medical director of a regional health provider and later set up his third home office. Dave and Babs were Mayor and Marshall of Houghton Lake’s Tip-Up Town winter fishing festival in 2004.

Dr. Sharp loved his career and his patients. Over the years he served as the physician of high school sports teams, prisons, youth camps, urgent care facilities, and residential programs. “Being a family doctor is spending time with friends who have problems, and you help them find solutions.” He was a life-long learner and researcher, always open to new perspectives and techniques. As he told his grandson, “Science is a fairly large collection of currently believed facts. We learn more all the time.” Dr. Sharp mentored medical residents at Rutgers University Medical School and taught at Michigan State’s College of Human Medicine. His passion project was curing infant colic (www.colic.us) because he did not want babies and their families to suffer.

In 2006 the Sharps moved back to Grand Rapids to be closer to their family. The Sharp kids and grandkids attended Hope College, Calvin College, Grand Valley University, and University of Michigan. Dave was a proud spectator for two generations of Sharps involved in boys and girls Lacrosse as players and varsity coaches in the Ottawa-Kent Athletic Conference. Visits to Greg’s home in Colorado Springs were another highlight: “I could sit and stare at Pikes Peak all day.”

For the final chapter of his career, Dave became a hospice physician and palliative care advocate. Every time he planned to retire he was called back to duty, with stints at Faith Hospice, Trillium Institute, Hospice of West Michigan, and Emmanuel Hospice. His former co-workers at Faith Hospice provided palliative care after Dave’s lung cancer diagnosis in July 2024 and hospice care in his final month.

During sixty years of marriage Dave and Babs moved twelve times within three states and completed seven whole-home renovations. The Sharps raised sheep and turkeys at their New Jersey farms and Dave always had a beloved dog at his side including Matty, Partner, Magoo, and Ollie. Their properties had extensive vegetable and flower gardens. Dave loved testing varieties of vegetables and one of his last purchases was four varieties of garlic for a community garden.

Dave loved being outdoors. He dressed in layers for changing weather and had shoes and hats for every activity. He enjoyed downhill skiing, playing volleyball, and cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Sharps often vacationed in mountains of New England, Colorado, and North Carolina. Dave’s favorite adventure was a week of fishing in Canada with his sons Doug, Greg, and Andy, with fish for every meal. He watched the seasons turn, knew where the sun was positioned throughout the day and year, and which weather patterns were coming. “Mackerel scales and mares’ tails means rain within a day.”

Dave was a skilled woodworker who loved designing projects and teaching skills to family and friends. The “Shop of Sharp” produced tables, chairs, picket fences, bookcases, picture frames, and much more. Dave passed along practical advice like “Measure twice, cut once” from his mentor Earl Hartpence and “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead” from Davy Crockett. He taught his children to consider consequences. “Think about what happens next. If your hand slips off the board, does it hit the saw blade? Advance the board with a wood block instead of your hand.” Dave looped long extension cords into beautiful daisy chains and kept his power tools in impeccable condition. If creating sturdy mortise and tenon joints required new tools, Dave knew where to buy them.

In May 2024 Dave and Babs moved from their home in Northeast Grand Rapids to a retirement community a mile away. Dave bequeathed his tools to his children and Greg built a new woodshop with a view of Pikes Peak, a fitting memorial. To no one’s surprise, their small new yard was soon filled with vegetation, including sunflowers that brought birds to the front window. In August, the Sharp brothers engineered a new patio in the backyard for outdoor grilling and dining.

Dave was an avid reader and enjoyed music. He sang bass in church and community choirs and faithfully attended his grandchildren’s school concerts and marching band competitions. He looked forward to holiday celebrations, especially Thanksgiving, when he supervised turkey preparation and taught his grandchildren to make stuffing and mashed potatoes with extra butter. He loved telling jokes and stories around the table, a trait his children and grandchildren share.

Dave volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Kent County Medical Society, Young Life, Thornapple Covenant Church, and Gilda’s Club of Grand Rapids. He was a lifetime member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association and American Academy of Family Physicians.

As part of his full and active life, Dave loved afternoon naps. He reminded us, “When your body is tired, exercise your mind. When your mind is tired, exercise your body. When both are tired, go to bed.” Balance and moderation served him well for eight decades.

David Sharp is preceded in death by his parents Lyman and Violet Sharp and infant brother Joseph. He will be greatly missed by his wife Babs, his four children and their spouses, and his eleven grandchildren: Martie[BE3] , Dave, Colin, Aidan and Keegan Bradley of Grand Rapids, MI; Doug, Jessica, Lauren, Paige and Rob Sharp of Spring Lake, MI; Greg, Heather, Lexi and Evan Sharp of Colorado Springs, CO; and Andy, Megan, Wesley, Jasper, and Sheridan Sharp of Nunica, MI. Dave was a faithful friend and wise mentor who invested in countless lives.

Dr. Sharp’s memorial service is Saturday, November 2 at 10:00 am at Thornapple Covenant Church in Cascade. The family will host a brunch reception at 9:00 am with egg casseroles and cinnamon buns. As a gardener who loved to create compost, Dave requested a green burial with biodegradable materials. His family crafted a custom wooden platform and cotton shroud for his interment on October 8 at Ridgeview Memorial Gardens in Grandville, MI. The family thanks the staff of Creston Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, Faith Hospice, and Thornapple Covenant Church for their assistance.

Memorial donations for Dr. Sharp can be given to Faith Hospice, 8214 Pfeiffer Farms Drive SW, Byron Center, MI 49315.