Sharron Lobaugh.  Watercolor  "Untitled". 16" X 19"
 
Sharron Lobaugh (nee McGinnis) was born and raised in Pullman, Washington. She met her husband Cliff Lobaugh while he was at the Veterinary College at Washington State University. The two married in 1959. Cliff accepted a job in Juneau, and the family moved here in 1962, taking the Alcan Highway to Haines and the M/V Chilkat down to Juneau. Sharron said, “When we crossed the pass and dropped down into Haines, I was spellbound, totally unprepared for the impact and splendor of Lynn Canal. I fell in love with the blue mixes in the Mendenhall Glacier. So much to paint!”
As an artist, Sharron is known for her watercolor and oil landscapes of Juneau and Southeast Alaska. Since arriving in Juneau, Sharron painted, sold, and exhibited works and was actively involved in the arts community. For several years, she was President of Alaskan Arts and Crafts Inc. She also chaired the 1967 Alaska Purchase Centennial Statewide Jury Exhibit, was appointed by Governor Hickel to the first Alaska State Council on the Arts, and was a founding member of the Friends of the Alaska State Museum.
Sharron earned her Master’s Degree in Education from UAS. In addition to teaching, she was on the school board, was appointed to the State Board on Innovative and Exemplary Education in the 1980s, and worked as a teacher trainer for the Northwest Educational Laboratory in Portland as a specialist in race and sex equality. 
Sharron was also an advocate for mental health awareness. She earned a second master’s degree from Boston University in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Here in Juneau she helped form the Juneau Alliance for the Mentally Ill (now called NAMI Juneau) and along with Ann DeNardo of Fairbanks and Lola Reed of Anchorage, helped form the Alaska Alliance for the Mentally Ill (now NAMI Alaska). To learn more: http://jukebox.uaf.edu/site/people/sharron-lobaugh.