Sharon Lee (Swanson) Nowak of Denton, Texas passed away on July 22, 2014, at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Denton. Sharon was born on May 26, 1942 in Beloit, Wisconsin. She was the middle child of Walter Swanson and Lorraine (Ferguson) Swanson. She grew up in McConnell, Illinois. Sharon married Lloyd Allen Nowak of Mount Carroll and generously opened her home to help raise their two nephews, Rick and Jerry Thompson. After working for many years at various senior living facilities in and around Freeport, Illinois, Sharon relocated to Denton to live closer to her grandchildren where she became ill and subsequently passed away. Sharon is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Kevin and Melanie Nowak of Aubrey, Texas, and their two daughters Jayden and Miranda Nowak; her older sister, Carolyn (Larry) Bear of Freeport, Illinois; and many nieces and nephews. Sharon was preceded in death by her father; her husband; her younger brother, Charles Swanson of Milledgeville, Georgia; and her mother whom Sharon lovingly cared for during her mother's extended illness. A memorial service will be held at Oakland Cemetery in Freeport, Illinois at 11:00 AM on August 16, 2014