Jewell admitted the sudden death of the vice-chairman on Monday had hit everyone at Latics hard, with football forced into a back seat position this week.
Sharpe played a big role in bringing Jewell to Wigan 16 months ago, and was also instrumental in the £1.2m record signing of Nathan Ellington.
Jewell said: "It has been a difficult week for everybody here and all our thoughts are with Duncan and his family.
"Football almost pales into insignificance at such a time, but now we must get on with it and try to achieve something to remember him by.
"When I got the job here, I spoke with Duncan at great length and formed a good relationship with him.
"He was a big factor in making sure the Duke signed for us too – we travelled down by helicopter to speak to Nathan."
A minute's silence will be observed before tomorrow's game at Plymouth Argyle, with both teams wearing black arm bands.
The Latics players also cancelled a squad day out on Wednesday as a mark of respect.
With the visit to Home Park being the longest trek of the season, Latics set out this morning for Devon.
They were due to be put through their paces at Exeter City's training ground later this afternoon, before arriving in Plymouth.
Scott Green was left behind in Wigan after failing to recover from a groin strain, with his place on the right side of midfield going to either Gary Teale or Mike Flynn.
But some better news on the injury front was Peter Kennedy's inclusion in the squad, with the winger set for a substitutes' role.
Jewell said: "Peter has trained extremely hard in the last couple of weeks to get fit, and unfortunately we didn't have a reserve game this week to give him a run.
"He'll be in the squad, although the best he can hope for at the moment is a place on the bench.
"With Lee Ashcroft on loan at Port Vale, we're a bit short of numbers, and I think we have only 14 fit pros."
Ashcroft has agreed a month's loan with Vale and could make the move permanent at the end of it.
Jewell is looking forward to tomorrow's game, especially as his last trip to Home Park as a Bradford City player saw him net a hat-trick!
And he'll be looking to maintain Latics good away form which has seen them win five league and cup games on the road, conceding only two goals.
Jewell said: "Plymouth have had a good start, and sometimes if you've had a good season previously, you can carry it on. They're not a team of stars, they work hard, and have a good manager in Paul Sturrock."
Courtesy of Dave Seddon from the Wigan Evening Post.