Obituary of Lulu Jean Sharrieff

Lulu Jean Sharrieff (1944-2023) 

Lulu Jean/Jayne (Allen) Sharrieff, commonly known as L.J., passed away in San Diego County, California, on September 23, 2023.

Born in Marianna, Arkansas, in 1944. Lulu was the sixth of eight children born to John Lee Allen and Rose Lee (Wright) Allen. When Lulu was young, the family relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where she met a young photo journalist and aspirational entrepreneur named Osman Ibn Sharrieff. The couple married in 1967 and, of that union, she had a son, Sabakhan Sharrieff, and a daughter, Laela Sharrieff.

In 1972, Lulu relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, where she attended Harvard University’s business school at night, while working as a trust and estate officer for the First National Bank of Boston. Always the adventurer and pioneer, she relocated her family to San Diego, California, in 1985. With limited exceptions, she lived out the second half of her life reading, writing, and researching under the California sunshine, while assisting with raising her three grandchildren, Elijah, Cyrus and Imani Sharrieff.

Lulu was preceded in death by her parents and five siblings. She is survived by her son Sabakhan, his wife Michelle, and grandsons Elijah and Cyrus; her daughter Laela and granddaughter Imani; her sister Rosetta, her sister Flora; her brother Jerry; and a host of nephews and nieces.

Services will be held at 2:00pm on Friday, September 29, 2023, at Legacy Funeral and Cremation Care, 7043 University Avenue, La Mesa, California 91942. Following the services, her children will preserve her ashes and scatter as appropriate on a future date.