Sharon Davison Midkiff Edge, 81, of Louisville, Kentucky passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at her residence.
Born on April 10, 1945, in Evansville, Indiana, to the late James Bayard Taylor Midkiff and Mabel Davison Midkiff. Sharon spent her formative years in Fordsville, Kentucky. She graduated from Owensboro High School in 1963, and Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1967. She earned a master’s degree in library information science from the University of Kentucky in 1968. She earned a doctoral degree (ABD) from Indiana University. Also, she was a devoted Volunteer Brallier for the American Printing House for the Blind.
She was a dedicated Academic Librarian for 32 years at the University of Louisville. She served on the committee to design and build Ekstrom Library at the University. During her tenure at the University, she held both user services and administrative positions in a wide range of departments at the University of Kentucky Libraries, The Ohio State University Libraries and the University of Louisville Libraries. She designed and developed the University of Louisville’s Office of Distance Learning Library Services which served distance learning students across the United States as well as Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore, in Europe (Athens, Greece) in Latin America (Panama and San Salvador) and in Cairo, Egypt.
She was an internationally known Information Science Specialist with extensive experience in delivering library services to distance learners. She was extremely active in the field of higher education as a researcher, educator and entrepreneur. She taught distance learning courses about accessing library services using a variety of distance learning technologies.
In addition to distance learning, Sharon’s other professional interests included adult literacy and technology and access to information by the visually impaired and physically challenged. She was one of the early promoters of the use of microcomputers in libraries in Kentucky, Sharon was instrumental in the establishment of the Kentucky Library Association (KLA) Microcomputer Users Roundtable. Included among her publications is Maximizing Your Micro’s Potential: Application of General-Purpose Microcomputer Software Packages in Libraries. She was the recipient of the Kentucky Library Association’s annual Outstanding Academic Librarian Award.
Sharon held teaching certificates in secondary education, and she was a certified Braille transcriber by the Library of Congress. She taught information technology courses for schools of library science, and she was a frequent presenter at international, national and regional conferences. One of her many publications was entitled, “Libraries without Walls: The Delivery of Library Services to Distance Learners”.
Along with her husband, Denzil Edge, she Co-Founded the company The Learning House, Inc., a comprehensive online education solutions partner that helps colleges and universities offer and manage online degree programs. Learning House, Inc. provided turnkey eLearning solutions to more than seventy (70) colleges and universities serving more than thirty thousand students.
Sharon was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Louisville, Ky and a sustaining member of Fordsville Baptist Church in Fordsville, Ky.
Sharon is survived by her husband, Denzil Edge, her son, Dustin Edge, daughter-in-law, Brooke Edge and grandchildren Alex Edge and August Edge of Louisville, Kentucky. She was preceded in death by her parents James Bayard Taylor Midkiff and Mabel Davison Midkiff.
Funeral services will be held at noon Saturday, July 11, 2026 at Fordsville Baptist Church at 1 Church Street, Fordsville, Ky, with burial to follow in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9am until service time at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your local library. A memorial service at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Louisville will be announced at a later date. Geary Funeral Home of Fordsville is in charge of arrangements.