Sharon Kay (Dolan) Stang

Sharon Kay (Dolan) Stang

Iowa City

Sharon Kay (Dolan) Stang, 82, of Iowa City, died Sunday, July 10, 2022, while under hospice care at Grand Living at Bridgewater, Coralville. She was surrounded by family and friends, who played songs and sang hymns at her bedside grand piano.

First a prodigy and later a professor of piano; a mentor, guide and accompanist to generations of musicians at Coe College, Cedar Rapids; and (as she would tell you) a "beautiful mother" of two; Sharon Kay is celebrated for her quick and wicked wit, her movie star smile, and her metronomic devotion to faith, friends, family and students.

Sharon Kay was born on July 4, 1940, in Grimes, Iowa, the daughter of John Francis Dolan and Evelyn Henrietta (Baer) Dolan, owners of a local grocery store. She took her first piano lesson at the age of 5. Eighteen months later—not yet able to reach an octave on the keyboard—she reportedly was already playing at a high-school level. As a young piano soloist, she earned 10 consecutive superior ratings in National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festivals. From 1954 to 1956, she won commendations and cash prizes from the National Guild of Piano Teachers Auditions, and first-rating gold medals in the Guild's International Recording Festival in 1955 and 1956.

All this, despite never having shown an interest in the instrument prior to one being brought into the Dolan household. For lessons before school, Sharon Kay's mother Evelyn would drive her in the dark early hours from Grimes to the downtown Des Moines studio of Cornelia Williams Hurlbut. She dutifully practiced daily in the late afternoon, and before bicycling away to play with friends.

"Although gifted with an unusual talent she is still an unspoiled, average little Miss, who is a bit shy and bashful about all the compliments showered on her," one newspaper account reads. In another account, Des Moines Tribune columnist Herb Owens wrote, "Being an only child, you might think Sharon would be pampered and 'spoiled.' However, she's a polite girl; one who was much more interested in talking dolls with my daughter than she was being 'interviewed' for this story. However, when Mrs. Dolan asked her to 'play something for Mr. Owens,' she nodded 'all right' and stepped without embarrassment to the piano."

In high school—much to the dismay of her piano teacher—Sharon Kay also played on the offensive side in 3-on-3 basketball. She was an above-average free-throw shooter, evidenced both by the occasional trophy and a book of statistics recorded by her accountant mother.

When Sharon Kay graduated from Grimes High School in 1958, she was named the outstanding student of the class. She went on to study piano performance and literature at the University of Iowa, Iowa City. There, she achieved an undergraduate degree in 1962, and a graduate degree in 1964. She was a member and president of the Sigma Chapter of the Alpha Chi Omega fraternity, where she continued to serve in various roles in the alumni, advisory, and house corporation boards.

In August 1963, Sharon Kay married the love of her life, Alan "Al" Vick Stang of Bremerton, Wash., whom she had met at the University of Iowa School of Music. After Al enlisted in the U.S. Navy, the couple was first stationed in Long Beach, Calif., then Newport, R.I. In the 1970s, they returned to Eastern Iowa.

Soon after, Sharon Kay was hired as a first-ever part-time instructor of music at Coe College, having been encouraged to apply there by faculty member Allan Kellar. The two reportedly met at an open house while she was carrying her son Jeff in a backpack.

At Coe, Sharon Kay soon became involved in administration as well as instruction. In addition to later being named the inaugural Velma J. MacMillan Endowed Professor of Piano, she served 22 years as the recruiting coordinator for the music department. Commemorating her retirement from Coe in 2014, after more than 40 years of teaching, Kellar wrote, "Sharon Kay is one of those salt-of-the-earth strong mentor-and-teacher figures that students and faculty come to depend on for constancy and consistency [...]"

Throughout her career, Sharon Kay was an active collaborator for hundreds of recitals, masterclasses and auditions. (As an accompanist, Sharon Kay once quipped that she valued "rhythmic stability" as much as musicality in performance.) She also served an adjudicator for regional and state piano competitions, and served as the senior auditions chair for the state of Iowa Music Teachers National Association. Finally, she also regularly maintained private studios in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

She was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda honor society in 1999, and became a nationally certified teacher of music in piano by the Music Teachers National Association in 2015.

One of Sharon Kay's favorite professional memories involved touring and performing in China, Hong Kong and Japan as part of the three-person Kedron Konsort. Another was playing a five-date traveling concert series with the Eastern Iowa Brass Band (now Iowa Brass), in which she was featured playing George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

Sharon Kay was a longtime member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Iowa City; Pilot Club of Iowa City, the P.E.O. Chapter E; and the Sons of Norway Restauration Lodge. She loved to garden and to dance, and she and Al were active in multiple community dance groups.

Sharon Kay is survived by daughter, Kristin Kay Stang and Gordon Capp of Buena Park, Calif., along with granddaughter Madeline Capp; son, Jeffrey Alan Stang and Lisa McDaniel of Chicago, along with granddaughters Eleanor “Ellie” Stang and Evelyn Stang. She was preceded in death by her “dance partner of 58 years,” Alan V. Stang, on Feb. 2, 2022.

Funeral services will be held Friday, July 15, 2022, at 11 a.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Iowa City followed by a gathering for friends and family with food and drinks. The service will be livestreamed for those who cannot attend. To watch the livestream, visit Gloria Dei’s YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/c/GatheredByGrace

Memorials may be directed to:

• Iowa City Hospice: https://iowacityhospice.org/donate/

• Table 2 Table: https://table2table.org/donation/

• Lutheran World Relief: https://donate.lwr.org.