Frederick Kingsley Sharpless ’79

Frederick Kingsley Sharpless ’79 died on August 13 after a fight with pancreatic cancer. He was 65. Born on December 7, 1957, Rick grew up in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and attended Conestoga High School. At Dartmouth Rick majored in government; played rugby; went on a language study abroad to Granada, Spain; worked at WDCR/WFRD; and was a Rufus Choate scholar (top 5 percent of the class). Most importantly, our junior fall Rick met the love of his life, Nancy Bonar ’81. Rick and Nancy moved to North Carolina, where they married in 1981. They purchased Chestnut Oak Farm, a horse training farm, in Climax, where they raised daughters Jessica and Holly. Rick attended the University of North Carolina law school and founded a boutique law firm, trying more than 60 cases and handling appeals. Rick was a devoted member of the Dartmouth Lawyers Association, serving as a board member for 15 years and as president for four years. Friends referred to him as a walking encyclopedia and admired and valued his wise counsel and wry sense of humor. Writing about his diagnosis, Rick said, “I’m not scared of dying, but I am scared of not living. I probably know what may kill me but not when and I will live life as much as I can, which I hope is a good long time.” And so he did, and we miss him. Rick is survived by Nancy and daughters Jessica ’05 (and husband Victor) and Holly (and husband Max).