- Date Of Birth: March 04, 1945
- Date Of Death: September 21, 2021
- City: Indianapolis
- State: Indiana
Cyrenne “Cy” Phinney-Sharpe, 76, passed away on Sept. 21, 2021, at her home in Pueblo, Colo., her husband, John Sharpe, at her side. She was born March 4, 1945. in Indianapolis, Ind., to James and Rosemary Graham.
She attended school in Clinton, Ind., and Phoenix, Ariz. Moving to La Veta, Colo., she met John Sharpe in 1979. They soon formed a loving bond that took them through an eventful life together.
Among her accomplishments, Cy managed the Rio Cucharas Country Club outside Walsenburg. She was loved and applauded for the way she ran the club, organizing several memorable events including a Hawaiian luau and a Thanksgiving Chamber of Commerce bash serving nearly 200 Cornish hens.
Meanwhile, she studied accounting at Southern Colorado State University. This led to bookkeeping for The Texas Longhorn Journal which printed Longhorn news and information while offering full-color, glossy, high dollar advertising. When The Journal moved operations to Colorado Springs, Cy was offered a position in advertising sales and spent the next couple of years traveling to Longhorn sales and shows across the country.
When the cattle market slumped in the mid 80s, Cy saw an opportunity to start up a less costly publication offering lower priced advertising and wider circulation. The result was The Longhorn World. Cy managed the advertising sales and John, using his communications degree, edited the publication.
The next several years were a whirlwind of traveling nationwide visiting ranches and attending Longhorn events. The success of the publication prompted the Texas Longhorn Association of America, the official breed registry for the industry, to purchase the Longhorn World and hire Cy and John to help create an Association publication, The Texas Longhorn Trails, located in Ft. Worth. Some of Cy’s best memories were of those days and the many friends made. In 1990, they moved back to Colorado.
Cy took a job with a mortgage company, starting as a receptionist, then advancing to loan officer. In 1995, Cy and John formed McMillan Financial, LLC with offices in downtown Pueblo offering residential and commercial mortgages They continued business until 2005 when John retired to pursue his writing and Cy joined Blattner Accounting Services where she worked as a bookkeeper until retiring December, 2019. It was Cy’s caring personality and bright mind that made her a success. Everyone she met, every client she worked with, was treated like family and benefited from her caring personal attention.
Her clients and friends’ problems were her problems and watch out if someone or something got in the way. A sense of humor and common sense solutions were her specialty. She will be greatly missed by John and all of her many friends.
