Peter Sharp

Peter Sharp, L.C.S.W. Little Axe resident and Oklahoma City Vet Center Team leader Peter Sharp, age 63 passed away Monday, July 4th in Norman, Oklahoma after a brief illness.  He was born in Ulm Germany on July 30, 1947 to Marga Niess and Turner Sharp.  He was a graduate of Lawton Eisenhower Class of 1965 where he excelled in academics and sports. Peter obtained his bachelor"™s degree in psychology in 1970 from Oklahoma State University and was commissioned as a second Lieutenant in to the United States Army.  He took his officer basic course at Ft. Gordon, Georgia and spent the remainder of his two years of duty at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.  Peter assisted with establishing the first drug and alcohol program for Vietnam era military at the Ft. Sill Hospital.  After his two years in the military, Peter took on the open road in his VW Van touring the United States. He later enrolled in the University of Oklahoma where he received a master"™s degree in counseling in 1973 and a master"™s degree in social work in 1975.  Peter worked at the Taliaferro Mental Health Center in Lawton, Oklahoma and for the Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health as a program development specialist.  Peter was hired by the Oklahoma City Veterans Administration in 1979 as the Team Leader for the Oklahoma City Vet Center. The Oklahoma City Vet Center was recognized nationally for the retention of original staff members in 1988 while under Peter"™s leadership.  Peter citied the diversity and multicultural backgrounds of the team and the united commitment of each team member to the veterans they served.   Peter played a critical role in two disasters that impacted the State of Oklahoma.  Peter was a member of a group of professional counselors that provided debriefing and psychological support to the many men and women who assisted with the search and rescue efforts that followed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing on April 19, 1995.  His coordination of mental health services was again called upon by the Red Cross after the May 3, 1999 tornadoes. Peter served as the coordinator of three teams of counselors deployed through the Readjustment Counseling Service, Vet Center Management arm within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to assist victims in affected areas.  Peter served on the state wide effort to require licensing and the development of credentials for social workers in the State of Oklahoma and was instrumental in the creation of the Oklahoma State Veterans Memorial.  He is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the National American Legion and the Little Axe American Legion. Peter"™s professionalism, dedication and commitment to the clients he has served as a counselor in his career is recognized and honored by those people who he helped and by the mental health community and will be deeply missed.   Peter enjoyed little league coaching, gardening and fishing. He was a devoted OU fan while always supportive of OSU, keeping up through his favorite radio station WWLS the Sports Animal. Peter"™s family was the love and soul of his life. He married Pamela Greb on September 1, 1978 and they had two children, Charles Lawrence and Renee"™ Michelle. His love and devotion to them was reflected in his love and commitment to their mother, Pam, his wife who survives him along with his son Charles, and wife Holly and their son Arin Patrick, his first grandchild of Granite Bay, CA., daughter Renee"™ and husband Jeremy Wilson of Mustang, OK, and his mother, Marga Sharp of Lawton, OK and extended Greb and Sharp family and Ulm, Germany relatives along with many professional acquaintances, friends, and clients.  He was preceded in death by his father, Turner C. Sharp. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Veterans"™ organization of your choice or to the Oklahoma City Vet Center General Post Fund, 1024 NW 47th Street, Suite B, Oklahoma City, OK  73118. Services will be Friday, July 8th at 11:00 am at Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church, 1400 NE 13th Street, OKC, OK with the Reverend Harvey G. Potts officiating.  Grave side services will be at 2:00 p.m. at the Ft. Sill National Cemetery in Elgin, Oklahoma with military honors. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Peter Sharp please visit our Sympathy Store.