Sharon Tripp's lifetime spans from the time Democratic president Woodrow Wilson attempted to segregate and dismissed federal government positions for blacks, and includes the inauguration of the first black president in the United States, and his re-election.
She celebrates her 100th birthday on September 20. Tripp joins the ranks of other centenarians around the globe whom have witnessed the changing world in their lifetime. Tripp has lived in South Florida for most of her adult life though she was born in Springfield, Ohio in 1913.
She was born Sarah Hoss, but after meeting her husband, Guy Elton Tripp, at the Ohio Masonic Home in Springfield where they both worked, he began calling her Sharon and the name has stuck to this day.
Tripp and her husband moved from Ohio and were married in Miami in 1939. Tripp worked as a registered nurse in Ohio, having graduated from training at the Springfield City Hospital in 1934 and dabbled in private care nursing while living in Florida before working in accounting and administrative work. The Tripps raised two sons, Russell and Bill, and lived in what is now Little Havana.
They moved around South Florida from the 1930's until the 1980's, until settling in the Moors where Tripp has lived for the last 30 years following the passing of her husband in 1984. Her son, Russell, has lived with her since 1996 and her youngest son visits from his home in California.
She has been active in the choir of a variety of Methodist churches across South Florida, most recently the Miami Lakes United Methodist Church where she also served as the financial secretary for much of 1989 through 2010.
After many decades, Tripp can still clearly remember being a teenager during the Great Depression. Her father was a grocer at the time and made it his responsibility to feed as many people as he could during those difficult times.
"As long as my dad was around, the neighborhood had something to eat," said Tripp. "I remember bagging flour and nuts for people, getting the right amount for everyone to have some."
Tripp has seen many things improve in her lifetime, however, she believes there is always room for growth.
"I just think people ought to treat people equally. I didn't understand that when I first moved to Florida, the inequality," said Tripp.
A birthday celebration is planned for Tripp the weekend of her birthday where relatives from Chicago, California, Virginia, Naples, Sarasota and New York will gather in her honor. Tripp spends much of her time these days tending to her garden of African Violets and the only teenager in her home, her dog, Corky.