Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sharon Grace Pierrot was born in Fort Good Hope on January 12, 1962, to Jean Baptiste Gully and Alice Masoonee. Sharon lived with her mother, Alice, until her brother got sick at the age of five. Then, she moved to live with her dad in Colville Lake. She lived with her dad until she reached the age of eight when her father moved Sharon and her sister back to Fort Good Hope to attend school. Each summer break, she would be taken out of the Fort Good Hope school and return home. She attended school in Fort Good Hope until June of 1997. Then, she went to school in Inuvik in 1979.
Sharon and Ronald Pierrot married in September of 1986. They have five children: Darren, Lisa, Matthew, Kelsey, Terrence, and five grandchildren. Sharon did various jobs in the community to support her children, including teaching in the school and working with the Gashnu Nahanni band office. Sharon and Ronald fostered many children, and this helped Sharon decide that she wanted to make a difference. She moved to Fort Smith to take the social work program. With the diploma, she worked as a corrections officer, a probation officer, a native customs adoption officer for the Sahtu.
In 2009, Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer and fought it to beat it. In 2010, she was victorious in this battle. After the battle, she decided to go to Colville Lake to be a haul truck driver. After a while she decided to pursue a career goal and become a child welfare officer in Fort Good Hope. In 2017, she took a job in Fort Simpson as a child wealth officer where she mentored a number of new graduates, ensuring she passed on the knowledge she had for the betterment of the children under her care.
Sharon embraced her culture. Sharon could sew, hunt, trap, and do whatever necessary to live on the land. She wanted to teach those around her the importance of keeping our culture alive. She loved being out on the land, and she said that is the place you heal and find yourself. She was no stranger to hard work. She empowered those around her, encouraged those to use their voice for change if they wanted it. Sharon was the person that encouraged people to be kind, good to one another, and be there for those that needed help. She stressed we do not know what a person is going through.
On May 9, 2019, cancer came back. Through this battle, she was fearless and courageous, and she stayed positive throughout, continued to be selfless, preparing those around her for what may come. Her body succumbed to the disease, but her spirit and mind did not. To the very end, she fought, but in Sharon's words, "I cannot wait to see what heaven looks like. It must be beautiful. I get to see my parents and those who left before us. I can celebrate with them." She will be sadly missed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.