PR firm owner Sharman dies at 45

Christianne Lyn Sharman, a writer and owner of a local public relations company, died of complications from a brain tumor Wednesday in the Orchard Prairie home of family. She was 45 years old.

A well-known member of Spokane’s public relations community, she had accounts with businesses big and small. For years she helped put together Avista’s annual report and honed the image of homegrown coffee roaster Craven’s.

Her newspaper columns in the travel section of The Spokesman-Review tickled readers as her gentle irreverence often hit its mark on husband and Spokesman-Review news reporter Thomas Clouse.

“Christianne would say ‘Let’s write things that give people a treat,’ ” said friend Rebecca Templin, who co-owns Craven’s Coffee. “She had a passion for hardworking people that showed in her ideas for how companies can best reach customers.”

As Sharman’s health deteriorated, she insisted upon carrying on her professional life with grace and a sense of giving back to others, Templin said.

“Behind the wild hair and all of the scarves and overstuffed bags was a busy, always busy, remarkable woman.”

Sharman was born Oct. 10, 1964. A graduate of Northwest Christian School, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Whitworth College and an English degree from the University of Washington.

She worked for her mother, the late Linda K. Sharman, eventually taking over Sharman Communications in 1999 and running it with business partner Ed Renault. Her father, Ed Sharman, is a retired television sports personality.

Other surviving family includes brothers Graham Sharman, of Kent, Wash., and Brett Clothier-Sharman, of Seattle; and two foster brothers, Gary Barros, of Long Beach, Calif., and Forrest Berryman, of Seattle.

Services are pending at Millwood Community Presbyterian Church, where she served as a deacon.