City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Sharon Lanier

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 89.
Died 01/28/2023.

Sharon Lanier
Sharon Lanier, April 4, 1934–January 28, 2023

She was born In Duplin County, North Carolina to Herbert and Piccola Lanier. She was very popular in high school, a star athlete, and President of her senior class. Summers were spent at Topsail Beach and Catherine’s Lake, transporting numerous nieces and nephews for swim parties. She graduated at ECU, Greenville and received a MSW at UNC Chapel Hill.
She also attended both Tulane University and Smith College for post graduate studies. Initially she began work as a psychiatric social worker at Dorothea Dix Hospital. Shortly thereafter, in 1964 she joined the faculty at the School of Social Work, UNC at Chapel Hill where she taught both professional practice and field instruction courses. Serving as an essay and faculty advisor she inspired numerous students who went on to make contributions to the field of social work throughout the country. A major focus of her work at UNC involved establishing training sites at Dorothea Dix Hospital, Family Services, Methodist Children’s Home, North Carolina Correctional Center for Women, North Carolina Center for Alcoholics, and the Wake County Department of Social Services. Following her retirement from UNC in 1980 she set up a private clinical practice in Raleigh and helped set up at the Wake County Department of Social Services the first Child and Family Sexual Abuse Treatment Program in North Carolina . She served as the Clinical Director, providing direct therapy services , as well as education for the community at large until her second retirement in 1997. As a pioneer in this field she served as a consultant and trainer at numerous conferences to hundreds of professionals across the state of North Carolina in how to establish a similar program in their communities. She was able to present her work at an International Conference in Montreal , Canada. Through her unusual depth and sensitive capacity for relationships, learning , and growth she continued to motivate and inspire her students and colleagues throughout her years of service and beyond. She was held in high regard by all who worked with her as a colleague or friend needing a wise and kind soul.
In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her brothers Marion, Harold, Kenneth, Elbert Lanier and her sister Bernice Bryan. She is survived by her companion, Gaye Styron and her sister Beatrice Lanier, as well as, nephews Elwood Lanier, Dean Bryan, Greg Bryan and nieces Rita Hawley, Andra Whaley, Joy Jones Young, Val Sanders, Linda Lanier, Martha Lanier and Lora Smith. She also leaves numerous grand nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly and supported in any way possible.
A special thanks is given to her friends, Norma Collins of Davidson, Merya Wolfe of Cary, Susan Shields and Pat DeBoer of Raleigh and niece Andra Whaley of Beulaville who were especially attentive and supportive during her weeks of illness.
A memorial service is being held at the Bethel Presbyterian Church, 1640 Jackson Store Road, Beulaville, NC on February 4 at 1:00 PM. A Celebration of Life is being held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh , 3313 Wade Avenue, Raleigh, NC on February 17 at 3:00 PM.
Memorial donations in Sharon’s memory may be made to the SAFEchild Advocacy Center, 864 West Morgan Street, Raleigh, NC 27603.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.

City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

icon
Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

icon
Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

icon
Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

icon
Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

icon
Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

icon
Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

icon
Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations