Sharp inducted into Dunklin County Hall of Honor, Class of 2013

Dunklin County is full of individuals, both past and present, who, by their personal achievements and acts of unselfish dedication to others, have complimented and made their communities proud. On Sunday, November 3, the Dunklin County Library paid tribute to six more of these individuals by adding them to the Dunklin County Hall of Honor.

In order to receive this honor, a resident of Dunklin County must have had personal accomplishments and or achievements in their occupation, trade, profession, or field of endeavor that are considered to have been distinctive, creative, or unique, and Stephen Sharp was one of these six great individuals. Barbara Petty, committee member for the Dunklin County Hall of Honor, introduced Sharp and his accomplishments.

The Honorable Stephen Sharp is the first of two sons born to Alice Rhodes Sharp and Byron Harrison Sharp of Gideon. His mother was the local postmistress, his father a city alderman, and they had a small grocery store where a young Sharp was sometimes pressed to work after school. He attended Gideon Public Schools, and he lived next door to his maternal grandparents, County Court Presiding Judge O.R. and Maude Rhodes. Sharp began accompanying his grandfather to the New Madrid County Courthouse frequently at age six. He was also introduced to politics at an early age, since his grandfather's close friend was the legendary prosecuting attorney, J.V. Conran.

Photo by Laura Ford, staff Honorable Stephen Sharp receives Dunklin County Hall of Honor certificate from Ken Lentz, Vice President of the Dunklin County Library Board of Trustees.

Sharp also loved music and at an early age, he was introduced to the new sound, "Rock-A-Billy," which has continued to be a part of his life. After graduating from high school in 1962, Sharp attended the University of Missouri for a year and a half before returning home. He was a drummer and played with his friend, Joe Keene, often six nights a week throughout the area, and over the years has shared the stage with Fats Domino, Mark Collier, Jerry Foster, Bill Rice, and Charlie Rich. Sharp enrolled into college at Southeast Missouri State University, where he lived off campus and shared an apartment in Cape Girardeau with his childhood friend, Max Hilfiker. Max introduced Sharp to Pat Vernon, and in 1966 they became engaged and a year later, they were married.

He earned his bachelor's degree from Southeast and then entered law school at Memphis State University. While in law school, he earned academic awards and was a member of the Memphis State University Law Review. Throughout law school, he continued to play music on weekends and toured the South with the later-on Grammy Award winner, Charlie Rich.

His law school would later be interrupted by military service. Sharp trained at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, before being sent to Vietnam, where he earned a Bronze Star. Once he left the military, he returned to Memphis State where he earned his Juris Doctorate degree.

Sharp returned to the Bootheel, and after being hired by Circuit Judge Flake McHaney, he eventually became a partner with him, in the Welman, Beaton, and Sharp law firm. He was a member of the American and Dunklin County Bar Association, as well as serving on the Young Lawyers Section Council of the Missouri Bar 1976-1979 and the Missouri Professional Liability Review Board 1977-1979. He would later leave his private practice after being elected as Prosecuting Attorney of Dunklin County in 1979.

Sharp served as Chairman of the then 10th Congressional District Democratic Committee, as well as serving as Chairman of the Dunklin County Democratic Central Committee during various years from 1973-1990.

He has been instrumental in the incorporation of many critical establishments throughout Dunklin County, including the Dunklin County Museum. Sharps accomplishments in the local, state, and national law are overwhelming and to numerous to account for each, but most importantly, was Sharp's election to the Missouri State Senate in 1984 and 1988.

The following are only a portion of his service to the state and the nation:

He was Chairman, Mo. Senate Education Committee; Chairman, Missouri Senate Criminal Jurisprudence Committee; Vice-Chair of Mo. Senate Agriculture Committee; Member of the Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee; he sponsored and passed the first legislation in Missouri that created incentives for the production of ethanol; together with then Southeast Missouri State University President Bill Stacy, Sharp obtained the initial funding for the creation of the Bootheel Education Center/Southeast Missouri State University in Malden; he received the St. Louis Globe-Democrat Meritorious Public Service Award in 1986; he testified before a Congressional Committee in Washington D.C. in support of Missouri agriculture; and he and his wife, Pat, along with their friend, Jack Stapleton, Jr., participated in a SALT II forum at the White House with President Jimmy Carter and National Security Advisor Zeb Brzezinski.

After his friend and mentor, Flake McHaney retired from the circuit judgeship, Sharp was appointed in 1990 as Presiding Circuit Judge of the 35th Judicial Circuit of Missouri over Dunklin and Stoddard Counties. He served on the Foresight Committee of the Missouri Bar in 1991. After serving the remainder of what had originally been McHaney's final term, Sharp was elected to the position in 1992. That year he served on the Missouri Supreme Court's ad hoc Committee to Review Judicial Circuit Boundaries. He was also on the Legislative Steering Committee for the Missouri Judicial Conference.

Sharp was re-elected in 1994, 2000 and 2006 without ever having been opposed. When his term expired December 31, 2012, he had served over 22 years, the longest time that any presiding judge has served in this Circuit. As a Senior Judge today, he continues to hear cases assigned to him by the Missouri Supreme Court.

His is a life-long member of the Baptist Church and of the Democratic Party. He is a long-time member of the Kennett Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, and the American Legion. His interests in "roots" rock-in-roll continues, and most recently, he has performed concerts with internationally known Narvel Felts, accompanied by the Jordanaires.

For his selfless and dedicated commitment to the Citizens of Dunklin County, the Honorable Stephen Sharp has been added to the Dunklin County Hall of Honor.

After receiving his honorary certificate from Ken Lentz, Vice-President of the Dunklin County Board of Trustees, Sharp addressed those attending, including friends and family. "I consider myself to be the luckiest person alive," he said, and then gave his wife, Pat, the credit for his success. He continued, "My grandfather, Judge Rhodes, taught me, that the only legitimate purpose for holding public office is to serve those who are unable to care for themselves, and to care for those who are less fortunate than you. That's how I tried to proceed through my political career."