Sharon Lee (Bonebright) Rau, 78, of Billings, formerly of Sidney, died Dec. 19, 2021.
She was born June 30, 1943, in Williston, N.D. to Everett and Grace Bonebright. She was one of three children. She was raised in Culbertson where she graduated high school. Some of her fond memories of growing up in Culbertson were sledding down Skunk Hill and working at the Tastee Freeze.
After graduation from Culbertson High School, she attended college at the University of Montana in Missoula where she had been awarded a music scholarship.
She married Douglas Rau on Jan. 19, 1968. They had three children: Seana, Rhetta and Justin.
She wore a number of hats in the public eye. First and foremost, she was the mother of three children who were in sports, rodeo, music competitions and 4-H. Every year before fair time, she would help her children halter break steers, polish horse hooves and time them on rodeo events. She would often pack up the camper, load the horse trailer and take the children to their rodeo events around Montana, North and South Dakota.
In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, she was a social worker and then the executive director of the Richland County Welfare Department. After 12 years with the welfare department, she retired and then worked as a music teacher at Rau School for 13 years. She would coordinate the annual Rau School Christmas play.
Her last rewarding job was being the director of the Chamber of Commerce in Sidney for 13 years until 2004 when she suffered a severe brain injury. After numerous brain surgeries and months of rehabilitation, she was able to go back to work part-time. She also stayed active within her church community. She thoroughly enjoyed organizing events for the town such as Arts in the Park, the Sunrise Music Festival, Peter Paddlefish Day and the Christmas Stroll.
She played a big role in shaping the businesses that make up the Sidney community and, for many, a part of their success can be attributed to her hard work and dedication to Sidney.
She was the first female Kiwanis president. Senators had mailed her letters telling her congratulations on that accomplishment.
After her husband’s death, she later sold the farm and briefly bought a townhouse in Sidney before moving to Billings to be closer to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She loved scrapbooking and was very passionate about showing off her family. She had also enjoyed ceramics, started a t-shirt design business and anything with being creative. She loved playing games and would never pass up a good game of Farkle.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Doug; sister, Joyce Persson; and brother, Gary Bonebright.
She is survived by daughters, Seana Rau of Billings and Rhetta Rau of Billings; son, Justin Rau of Big Sky; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were Wednesday, Dec. 22, at Ebenezer Congregational Church in Sidney with Pastor David Meehan officiating. Interment was in the Sidney Cemetery.
