09/20/2024
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dan Sharp, founder of Sharp Family Vineyards, on Sunday, September 15, 2024.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Dan showed early brilliance and talent with gifts as diverse as they were strong. A powerful multi-sport athlete and academically gifted young man, Dan graduated from West Albany High School. Dan attended The University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Economics.
After graduating from The University of Texas School of Law, Dan began a 23 year-long career as an intellectual property lawyer, serving clients around the world. From working as a talented patent litigator, to serving as Associate Vice President of Research and the Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization at his beloved alma mater The University of Texas, and most recently, as Senior Corporate Intellectual Property Counsel to Rimini Street, a global leader in technology support systems, Dan’s work had far-reaching and lasting impact. He is a former federal law clerk, serving the Hon. T. John Ward (Ret.) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
In April of 2011, at his law school’s class reunion, Dan reconnected with a classmate, Maura Brady, a labor and employment lawyer. The two immediately fell deeply in love, marrying in Maura’s hometown in Louisiana in 2012. They made their home together in Hong Kong and Austin before eventually moving to Fort Davis, Texas. Dan loved Maura with all his heart, as he would say, and was loved by her the same.
Never one to sit idle or shy from a challenge, in 2018 Dan and Maura founded Sharp Family Vineyards in the Texas Davis Mountains AVA, reestablishing the historic Blue Mountain Vineyard and growing Cabernet Sauvignon at 5,600’ elevation in rocky, volcanic soil. Over the years, Dan and Maura have contributed greatly to the wine industry both philanthropically and as grape growers. They put their hearts and souls into the Davis Mountains building Sharp Family Vineyards.
With regular updates on social media about life on the ranch, Dan put the same passion into the vineyard as he did so many other things. His inquisitive style and thirst for knowledge matched his thirst for good wine, good food, and sharing with good friends. Conservation was top of mind for Dan — the Sharps always planned to plant only a small fraction of their land and leave the rest for the native wildlife. They have partnered with Borderlands Research Institute to study the Montezuma quail on their property, and have worked with a Sul Ross University range management student in the vineyard.
Dan made a powerful contribution and impact wherever he lived. Dan and Maura supported numerous charitable efforts and were active both in the Austin and West Texas communities in ways both simple and grand.
Dan was a man of a thousand hobbies. And he was no dilettante. Dan went deep on topics he loved. Whether it was bass fishing, calf roping, competition cycling, golf, hunting, guitar, barbeque, or billiards, he pursued his passions with considerable energy and infectious enthusiasm.
Dan is remembered as a devoted, loving, generous, open-hearted man whose loyalty to those he loved never wavered. Strong-willed, tenacious, intellectually curious, and steadfast, Dan was a true original.
A celebration of Dan’s life will be held at 10:30 a.m. on October 5, 2024, at Hyde Park Baptist Church Chapel, 3901 Speedway, Austin, Texas 78751. Visitation will immediately precede the service beginning at 9:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a contribution in Dan’s memory to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Central Texas (cacct.com), ABC House/The Children’s Advocacy Center serving Benton & Linn Counties and based in Albany, Oregon (abchouse.org), or Grand Companions in Fort Davis, Texas (grandcompanions.org).
