
By Gina Lee Allen
Neighbors of Canyon Lake Columnist, Canyon Lake Insider
Canyon Lake is home to many wonderful people, including Sharon Hewett, who relocated to Canyon Lake on December 24, 2020.
Sharon grew up in La Palma, California. After high school, Sharon moved to Seal Beach, where she lived for many years. She later relocated to Palm Springs and purchased a beautiful 4800-square-foot home. She relocated to Canyon Lake when she realized that Palm Springs was too deserted and too far away from her kids and grandkids.
Sharon is a mother to three children, Ashley, Evyn, and Casey, and two grandchildren, Jax and Nixon. She started a family when she was young and led a busy life, with all of her children actively participating in sports. They all went on to become Division I athletes in college.
Sharon enjoys decorating, designing, and staging homes for her friends, family, and realtors, which led to a long career as a merchandising manager for HomeGoods.
After 33 years of working long hours, Sharon made the decision to retire and spend more time with her family and vacationing in tropical places. Sadly, Sharon’s mother passed away from breast cancer in 2018 and is now her father’s caregiver. He resides in Lake Havasu. Despite these challenges, Sharon stays positive and keeps busy by spending time with her children and grandchildren.
After meeting her boyfriend, Paul Preuss, who had been a resident of Canyon Lake for eight years, Sharon fell in love with the sun, water, beaches, and boating that Canyon Lake offers. After nine long months of searching for a home and getting outbid multiple times, Sharon finally found the home of her dreams in Canyon Lake, which she share with her two-year-old black Labrador, Pepper.
Sharon said she chose Canyon Lake because she loves small communities and believes that the people in Canyon Lake are genuinely nice people. Sharon and Paul adore Halloween in Canyon Lake and spend the evening driving around in their golf cart distributing thousands of pieces of candy to the community.
Interestingly, Sharon and I met in 7th grade when we attended Jr. high school together. We reconnected at our 30-year high school reunion. Back in the day, we used to share love letters we received from our then-boyfriends during science class. (Don’t worry Mr. Murray, we still aced our exams.) I am excited to have her as a neighbor. It’s amazing to see how far she has come since then.
Sharon is an asset to the community, a breath of fresh air, a true gem, and just an all-around amazing person. So let’s welcome her to Canyon Lake and hope she doesn’t mind when we stop to pet her very friendly Labrador Pepper, which also loves to jump in any golf cart at every opportunity.
Gina Lee Allen is a Canyon Lake resident and a former business owner and writer for “Berry News.” She currently writes for Yelp as part of its Elite Squad.