Mrs. Sharon Jean Cyprien

Mrs. Sharon Jean “Jean” Cyprien, 64, of Baton Rouge, LA, passed away on Sunday, March 19, at Ochsner Health Center, New Orleans, LA. Jean was born December 15, 1958, in Galveston, TX and graduated from Ball High School. She matriculated at Lamar University, met the love of her life Dale Cyprien during their sophomore year, and went on to graduate with a BBA in Marketing in 1981. While at Lamar University she pledged the Zeta Beta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc during the Fall of 1978. She later became a 1994 Charter Member of the Upsilon Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc in Gwinnett County. Jean grew up without the benefit of a car and Dale had the honor of teaching her to drive. While learning, she bumped into a car, breaking a taillight. She later joked that her initial instinct was to “put the pedal to the metal,” but Dale put a note on the car with his phone number. Jean said that act convinced her that Dale “was the one!” Dale and Jean married in 1982 and moved to Atlanta, GA, where she worked for the Bic Company. In 1983, they joined Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church where they and several close friends at the church founded The Hopewell Christian Fellowship. The fellowship is dedicated to creating opportunities for spiritual growth of the membership and planning spiritual learning seminars and events. The group also established the Discipleship Ministry with three levels of classes, a ministry that continues to thrive to this day. Jean was very involved with teaching in the Discipleship Ministry Classes. After giving birth to their first child, Brandon, Dale and Jean decided Jean would be a stay-at-home mother, eventually homeschooling all three of their children for five years. When Brandon was two years old, Jean determined that Hopewell needed a Nursery to serve newborns and children through age four, and she established, with Bishop Sheals’ support, a Nursery. When Brandon reached age five, Jean saw the need to establish a Children’s Church. And when Brandon became a teenager, she established Teen Church, becoming the ministry leader for these ministries. Jean had a very talented team of leaders who were all important contributors to these ministries. To earn extra money, Jean became an Independent Art Consultant at Ethnic Expressions, an ethnic art company. She exhibited sales and leadership qualities, growing her Unit and rising to the position of Emerald Unit Director, the highest Director position in the company, having three Unit Directors and Independent Art Consultants in her downline. Dale and Jean joined Victory Church in 2004 and were members until they moved to Baton Rouge in 2021. While at Victory, they were in the biblically based Crown Financial Ministries Personal Finance Class that prompted them to become Crown/COMPAS Ministries Facilitators for 17 years, holding leadership roles and facilitating 32 classes. Jean leveraged her experience volunteering as a facilitator of the bible-based Personal Finance Classes into a paying job at the University of North Georgia, Gainesville Campus, as the Student Money Management Center Coordinator where she focused on educating and empowering students and staff in the area of financial literacy. She retired in 2021. Having been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in 1991, Jean became a liver transplant recipient on November 21, 2011, a date she celebrated annually as her “Liverversary.” Jean, being the athlete and fighter she was, was out of ICU and released from the hospital in record time. She joined Team Georgia TGA, a transplant advocacy group, and served as the Minority Liaison for 2015-2016. She participated in the Transplant Games twice, running in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races, always medaling, winning 3 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze. Jean lived an extraordinary and healthy life continuing to run 10Ks, half-marathons, walking, jogging, and lifting weights until she became ill. Jean was an amazing wife, mother, sister, aunt, friend, mentor, confidant, chef, and organizer. Jean and Dale were best friends and she loved hard and loved God. On March 19, she entered into the presence of God and heard those words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, well done.” Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph Clay Jr., and Connie Faye Clay, both of Galveston, TX. She leaves behind to cherish her memories her husband, Dale, sons Brandon Dale Cyprien, Justin Jerome Cyprien and daughter Tayler Mackenzie Cyprien and husband, Alex Coxe. She is also survived by sisters Josephine Tottenham, Theresa Williams, Lisa (Larry) Myles, Deatra (Joseph) Guidry, brother Joseph (Valarie) Clay III, her aunt Dorothy (Alvin) Sneed, brother-in-love, Robert (Jackie) Newberry, sisters-in-love, Gale (Ervis) Chapman, Glenda Cyprien, special friends Linda Pace, Sonya Perry, Carrie Johnson, Latrisa DeGraft-Hanson, Kim Abnatha, Jackey Johnson, Rachel Buckner, Debra Walker, Cassaundra Minnifield, J.B. Hilliard and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and friends, plus two granddogs, Milo and Roddy.

Tributes

Mrs. Sharon Jean Cyprien

December 15, 1958 - March 19, 2023