Rest In Peace, my dear friend Janine

I miss Janine already. She made it a point to enjoy all life had to offer whether her taste in music, food or art. A true zest for living and making friends, she brought that special energy into the rooms she entered. A curious and inquiring mind. A life well-lived and well-loved. 

We were friends in high school and throughout the years, recently attending writing conferences or staying at each others places enjoying a nice dinner and wine. When she called me in January I thought it was to connect for a date, but sadly it was to share the news that cancer had returned. By February she had chosen a course of treatment that would remove her tongue in the hope it would remove the spread of cancer. When I was travelling in Japan I offered up prayers in Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples for her return to wellness. I truly believed she would beat this demon as she had the first time around, and we would be drinking another bottle of wine together to celebrate the publishing of her book.

Janine communicated with her friends about her treatment and the progress of her disease, and I was struck by her talent for writing as well as her courage and honesty. She entered into palliative care at the end of April.

I learned of her death on May 9 when my brother Mike sent me the obituary. Sad news.

Obituary of Janine Sharp (Grespan) 1961 - 2024
About our mother, Janine Sharp (Grespan)

by Bram and Jesse Sharp

Our mom was and always will be a Kitchener-Waterloo icon. She is often remembered for her 25+ years in local news and broadcast presentation at CKCO/CTV News Kitchener. Even in everyday conversation, she always took a journalistic approach and sought your real story. But her successful career does not completely encapsulate who our mother really was. 

Beyond the camera, she was a compassionate, committed mother to two sons. We were her world, and no matter the paths in life we took or who we decided to be, she adored us as the crowning achievements of her life. She loved and protected us in a way we can only aspire to treat our own children someday. 

We have always admired our mom's natural gift of friendship. To her, making friends was never a popularity contest. It was a gift to create strong loyal and loving bonds—and have fun while doing so. Wherever she travelled across the globe—from Australia to Europe to Africa—she was never without someone to have fun with, because a friend was just waiting to be made. Our mom was also a woman of exceptional taste and culture, deeply ingrained in her community's arts and music initiatives. She could always be found in the front row dancing, even if she was there alone. She never once apologized for her uncompromisingly sociable attitude, and for that, we are so proud of her.

Above all, we believe the most important thing to note about our mom's life experience is courage. She dared to live out loud and love without fear of being ridiculed. She took great risks and lived a life full of adventure. She made many friends from various backgrounds. She had the courage to fight cancer - twice.

In 2007, the first time she was diagnosed, she stated on a TV broadcast that she "would be back." She fulfilled that promise and inspired many other cancer survivors in their own battles. Then, after her triumphant victory, she set her career in journalism aside, to enjoy 15 more wonderful years. We always believed in her strength, but could not fully comprehend her courage until we saw it for ourselves. She was the most courageous woman we have ever known.

We have heard that people who have passed are never really gone if we keep them in our hearts. For us, we will remember our mom in every beautiful flower garden, every fishbowl glass of wine, every pink sunset cloud. So she will never truly be gone from us. We know her memory and legacy will be carried on by all of us in her community, including the many dear friends and acquaintances who had the joy of meeting her.

Our mom peacefully passed surrounded by her family on Friday, May 3rd, 2024  at Grand River Hospital's Freeport Campus in Kitchener. She is predeceased by her parents Fred and Enes Grespan, and sister Claudia. She is survived by her two sons Jesse and Bram, her daughter-in-law Maliyah, her siblings Paul (JoAnn), Peter, Michelle (Alan), Rebecca and Sonja and her nieces and nephews Benjamin, Laura, Lakin, Sierra and Erica. Also by her dear friend and former husband of 35 years, David Sharp.