Sharon Rose Varian Loeffler passed away on February 3, 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was born on July 13,1943 in Aurora, Colorado to Drs. Robert A. Varian and Thelma S. Varian. She grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma and was Valedictorian of Muskogee Central High School in 1961. She attended University of Colorado where she received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering in 1966.


Sharon worked for Dow Chemical Co. 1966-82, Dowell-Schlumberger 1982-86, and Telos. She married Norman Loeffler in the fall of 1977. They were later divorced in 1999. She was a member of the Society of Women Engineers and served as national president in 1980-81. Sharon was a long-time member of MENSA. The U.S. postal service issued a forty-cent stamp based on Sharon's design honoring "America's First Lady of Engineering " Lillian Gilbreth.


Sharon retired in Tulsa, OK, spending many happy years traveling, playing bridge with her Mother, doing counted cross stitch and puzzles, enjoying her cats, and being an avid stamp collector. She spent the past few years turning her stamp collecting hobby into her business, Black Cat Philatelic.

Preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Robert A. Varian and Dr. Thelma S Varian.

Survived by her siblings: Karl (Carol) Varian of Plano, TX; Jon Varian and Valerie Slivinsky of Plano, TX; Merrie (Steve) Koenig of Bartlesville, OK; and Kandy (Ted) Chaat of Norman, OK; plus seven nieces and nephews and twelve great-nieces and nephews.

The family requests donations in her memory be made to local animal shelters or
The Society of Women Engineers https://swe.org
Click the donate button, select the past president scholarship to donate towards and note the donation is in the memory of Sharon Varian Loeffler or they can be mailed to

Society of Women Engineers
130 East Randolph Street, Suite 3500, Chicago, Illinois 60601