Sharon Ayers McCullough

Sharon Ayers McCullough, 68, of Mount Pleasant, SC, passed away September 29, 2025, at MUSC. The family will receive visitors Thursday, October 9, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at McAlister-Smith Funeral & Cremation at 1520 Rifle Range Road, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464.

All are welcome. A private memorial service will follow.

Sharon was born on July 22, 1957, to Emory Jerome “Bob” Ayers, Jr. and Nancy Lucille (Rushton) Ayers in Waco, TX, but grew up in Orangeburg, SC. She graduated from Wade Hampton Academy in 1974, and from Converse College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology in 1978. Sharon worked for the South Carolina Commission for the Blind before turning to her professional passion, teaching, and earning her Masters in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina in 1987. Sharon loved working with children, teaching elementary school in Columbia before spending the last 16 years of her career teaching first, third, and fifth grade at Mount Pleasant Academy. She continued to find joy in helping children in retirement, volunteering at the MUSC Children’s Hospital and tutoring out of her home.

Sharon met her husband, Gary, in 1986 in Columbia, SC, and the two were married in 1988. Excited to start a family, Sharon and Gary were blessed with their daughter, Aubrey, in 1990 and their son, Austin, in 1991. Sharon spent the last 32 years of her life in Mount Pleasant, SC, and found great peace in the natural beauty of the Lowcountry’s beaches and marshes.

Above all else, Sharon loved people and cherished her relationships with family and friends, new and old. She was magnetic and always sought to draw people in from all walks of life and build them up. This remained true as Sharon grappled with Corticobasal Syndrome during the last years of her life, and she always attacked life with a “Hell Yeah!” attitude and encouraged everyone around her to do the same. She loved music and never missed a chance to dance from weddings to in the living room. She loved to make her home beautiful, and loved opening her door to anyone who was ready for a good story, a good drink, and a good laugh. She was a strong, kind, and fun-loving woman, and a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, teacher, and friend.

Sharon is survived by her husband, Gary Edward McCullough of Mount Pleasant, SC, and her two children, Aubrey McCullough Minshew (Evan) of San Francisco, CA, and Austin Edward McCullough (Annie) of Charleston, SC; her two granddaughters, Naomi June Minshew and Molly Parham McCullough; her two sisters, Kay Ayers-Garren (Charles) and Bobbi Ayers Darnell (Bill), both of Lexington, SC; and several nieces and nephews.

The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the staff of MUSC and the countless therapists, caregivers, and friends in Sharon’s community for all of their love and support.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to organizations supporting those with progressive neurological diseases, like The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration or CurePSP. Donations can also be made to MUSC Children’s Hospital in Sharon’s honor.

Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted online at http://mcalister-smith.com.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McAlister-Smith Funeral and Cremation – Mount Pleasant, 1520 Rifle Range Road, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464, 843-884-3833.