Sharon A. Empey (Kenney) Toren

Sharon A. (Kenney) (Empey) Toren
Oct. 28, 1939 - Dec. 19, 2019
Sharon Ann (Kenney) (Empey) Toren, 80, passed away at her home Dec. 19, 2019.
Sharon was born Oct. 28, 1939, in Ithaca, N.Y. She was the youngest of three children born to Harriet D. (Mawhinney) Kenney and Vernon C. Kenney. She graduated from Boulder City High School, in Boulder City, Nev., in 1957, and graduated from University of the Pacific, in Stockton, Calif. While at UOP, she was a founding member and served two terms as president of the Phi chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, majored in History, and met her first husband, Michael R. Empey. Sharon and Michael Empey were married May 5, 1962, in San Mateo, Calif. They initially settled in San Jose, Calif., where they started their family. The family also lived in San Diego and Lake Oswego, Ore. Sharon enjoyed playing volleyball and taking camping, skiing and backpacking trips with family. Sharon and Michael Empey divorced in 1979. Later that year, Sharon remarried to Dr. Michael Toren. They lived in Forest Grove, Portland and ultimately North Plains, Ore., where they built a house and planted a Christmas tree farm. Sharon enjoyed gardening and spending time with her grandchildren on the North Plains farm. Sharon and Michael Toren also enjoyed traveling.
Sharon is survived by her second husband, Michael Toren; sister, Rae T. Kine; her two daughters, Jennifer R. (Empey) Pennington and Gretchen A. (Empey) Hibler; and her four granddaughters, Emma Hibler, Fionna Pennington, Georgia Pennington and Audrey Hibler.
Sharon will be remembered as the life of the party, an avid knitter and an adoring grandmother.
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Published in The Oregonian from Jan. 10 to Jan. 12, 2020