Sheron Smith-Piazza peacefully went to heaven to be with our Lord at her home on April 27, 2022, after more than a decade of courageously fighting cancer. Sheron was surrounded by her loving family and friends, and her devoted rescue dog, Coco, all of whom stayed by her side constantly during this lengthy battle.
Sheron Smith-Piazza
Sheron was an amazing person who was beautiful inside and out, and she touched many lives during her 61 years on earth. She was an adoring mother and grandmother, a loving sister, a faithful friend, and a deeply devoted wife. Sheron created majesty in her gardens, and she leaves a legacy of beauty and love in the souls she touched throughout her life.
Sheron graduated from high school in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1979, and later served three years in the United States Army. She then served in a number of leadership positions in the business world before seeking her dream and lifelong passion of owning her own landscaping firm. In 2002, Sheron founded and became president of the highly successful Turtle Rock Landscaping, a business she led for twenty years. In this position, she served clients in the Shenandoah Valley and the Washington Metropolitan Area, creating breathtaking landscape designs and building beautiful gardens. One of her long-time clients and dear friend, United States Senator John Warner who was a life-long gardener, often told his friends and neighbors that Sheron was “a remarkably gifted landscaper who made dreams come true.” Sheron also founded Shenandoah Confections in 2013, a tea and chocolate shop on Main Street in Front Royal, where she met her husband and the love of her life, John Piazza.
Sheron was preceded in death by her father and mother, James Edward Smith and Betty Joy (Hill) Smith, and her dear brother, Jimmy Smith, all from Huntsville, Alabama.
She is survived by her adoring husband, Colonel John Piazza (USAF, Retired); children Danielle Christine Dombrowski of Rileyville, Virginia, and son Michael Frances Dombrowski and devoted companion Katya Porter of Bristol, England; sister Darlene Boyd and her loving companion William (Bill) Byrns of Front Royal, Virginia; sister Debbie Wooten and her husband, Billy, and nephews Andy and Eddie Wooten, all from Union Grove, Alabama. Sheron is also survived by her sister-in-law Pat Falting of Bossier City, Louisiana, her brother-in-law John L. Piazza and his wife Mary Jane of Atlanta, Georgia, and step-daughter Casey Piazza Reynolds and husband Timothy Reynolds and grandchildren Bryant, John, and Jillian Reynolds, all of Louisville, Kentucky. Also surviving are many other relatives, all of whom were deeply loved by Sheron.
Sheron is further survived by her fellow Deacons at Rockland Community Church in Front Royal, the members of the Rockland Community Church Women’s Group that she led as president for several years, and her “Gardening with God” Bible study family, a group that she founded four years ago for fellowship and to study God’s word weekly at the Piazza home. Sheron believed deeply that one was closest to God in a beautiful garden, and that the surest sign of God’s presence on earth is His gift of flowers, plants, trees, and shrubs He provides each season.
A religious celebration of Sheron’s life will be held at Rockland Community Church on Saturday, May 21, 2022, at 10:30 in the morning, with a reception in the Rockland Community Church Parish Hall immediately following the service. The service will be celebrated by The Right Reverend Bishop Vince McLaughlin, assisted by Pastors Mary Marshall and Joel Flower.
In lieu of flowers, Sheron and her family request that any donations in her memory be made to the Rockland Community Prayer Garden, a grand prayer garden that Sheron designed and which is currently being built to serve as a place of peace, joy, and meditation for the people of Warren County and beyond. Donations to the Rockland Community Prayer Garden should be sent to Rockland Community Church, attention Mrs. Carol Goddard, at 2921 Rockland Road, Front Royal, Virginia 22630.
