Colbert Starr was born on June 17, 1926 to Martin Colbert Starr and Lottie Belle (McBrien) Starr. He went to heaven to be with his Lord and Savior on April 24, 2012 at the age of 85. He loved God, his family, his friends, and his country, and found great enjoyment throughout his life working on his farm with his cattle.

Colbert grew up in the Zion Community outside of Stilwell with an older sister, Juanita, and two older brothers, Sam Dick and Mack, all of which preceded him in death. He attended a two room school at Zion Elementary School where he moved ahead one grade in his early years of school, before going onto Stilwell High School where he graduated high school at 17 in 1942.
He attended Northeastern State College in Tahlequah before being drafted into the Army during World War II. He served in the European Theater until the war ended. He completed his military service in the American Occupation Army in Germany where he had the opportunity to watch some of the Nuremburg trials.
After being honorably discharged, he continued his education at Northeastern State and then Oklahoma A&M (now OSU) where he obtained a B.S. in Agriculture Education in 1949.

After obtaining his college degree, he returned home to Stilwell to teach Vocational Agriculture for the next 38 ½ years. He completed his Master’s degree at OSU in 1962. During his teaching tenure, he had many students achieve recognition as State Farmers and a few even went on to achieve recognition as American Farmers. He had many enjoyable hours attending fairs with students helping them with their show animals and working with various teams such as parliamentary procedure, land judging, land surveying, and cattle judging. After retirement, his contributions to the Ag Department were recognized by the new Ag Building being named in his honor after he had worked tirelessly to help design it in his final years of teaching.

On May 16, 1954, he married the love of his life, Geraldine Mills, to whom he was married for 57 years.
They built their home in the Starr Springs Community a year later and lived there the rest of his life. His older son, James Colbert Starr, was born in 1963, followed in 1964 by the birth of his youngest son, Jon Douglas Starr.
He taught them the importance of God, how to work hard around the farm, and to be a man of your word. Although not an athlete himself, he and Geraldine faithfully attended the boys’ various games and athletic contests. Colbert was actively involved in the Stilwell and Zion Communities. He was a member of the Zion United Methodist Church, and later and most recently a member of the Stilwell United Methodist Church. He was a Mason for over 50 years and past member of the Chamber of Commerce. He served as the Kiwanis Club President in 1962 and oversaw the Strawberry Festival activities. He was a supporter of the Stilwell Public Schools Foundation. He was an active member of the Adair County Retired Educators.

He served two years as President and received the VIM award. He was also one of the driving forces behind the Adair County War Memorial that sits in front of the courthouse.

Colbert is preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Sam Dick Starr and Mack Starr, sister, Juanita Starr and sister-in-law, Addie Starr.

Colbert is survived by his wife, Geraldine Starr of Stilwell, his son James Starr, his daughter-in-law, Monique, and granddaughters, Addison and Sealie of Lakeway, TX, his son Jon Starr, his daughter-in-law Shannon, and grandsons, Colby and Caleb of Tulsa, OK, sister-in-law, Virgie Starr of Stilwell, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and other family members and many friends.

Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m. Friday, April 27, 2012, at Hart Memorial Chapel with Rev. Barry Hayes officiating. Interment will follow at Stilwell City Cemetery under the direction of Hart Funeral Home of Stilwell.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Stilwell School Scholarship Foundation or the First United Methodist Church.
 

Thank You For Your Service!

Obit for Geraldine

Geraldine Starr

© by:Hart Funeral Home

June 2014

Submitted by: Martha Real

Geraldine Starr was born October 27, 1924 to Harry and Nona Mills. She went to Heaven to be with her Lord and Savior and husband Colbert on June 14, 2014 at the age of 89. She loved her family, her friends, and loved to cook. It was often said that high school boys would work for Colbert on their farm just so they could eat her cooking.

Geraldine grew up in the Payson and Meeker community in Central Oklahoma. She graduated from Meeker High School in 1943, earned a B.S. from Central University in 1949, and a masters in education in 1971 from NSU. She moved to Stilwell in 1953 as a Home Demonstration Agent. She taught school at Meeker, Mulberry Hollow, Stilwell, and finally for the majority of years at Zion Elementary. She was selected the Adair County Teacher of the Year in 1977. She retired from Zion in 1987 after 37 years in the classroom. She was an active member of the Adair County Retired Educators.

She and Colbert married May 16, 1954, and they were married for 57 years until Colbert went to Heaven on April 24, 2012. They built their home and raised their family in the Starr Springs Community in Stilwell and she lived there until 2013 when she moved to Tulsa to live with her son. Her older son, James Colbert Starr, was born in 1963, followed in 1964 by the birth of her youngest son, Jon Douglas Starr.

She was a member of the Zion United Methodist Church, Stilwell United Methodist Church, and most recently attended St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Tulsa. She wanted to be remembered as “a good person and caring person,” and everyone that knew her would agree that she was both of those and much more.

Geraldine is preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, William “Bill” Mills and Harry “Cotton” Mills, a sister, Mary Lou Buchanan, and sisters-in-law, Juanita Starr, Addie Starr, Erna Mills, Dorothy Mills, and brothers-in-law, Richard “Dick” Nance and Jack Buchanan.

Geraldine is survived by her son James Starr, her daughter-in-law, Monique, and granddaughters, Addison and Sealie of Lakeway, TX, her son Jon Starr, her daughter-in-law Shannon, and grandsons, Colby and Caleb of Tulsa, OK, her sister Betty Koos and brother-in-law William “Bill” Koos of Debary, FL, her sister Lucille Nance of Edmond, OK, her brother Albert “Ab” Mills and sister-in-law Jan Mills of Keller, TX, and her sisters-in-law Virgie Starr of Stilwell and Shirley Mills of Alamo, TX, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and other family members and many friends.

A close casket funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, June 20, 2014, at Hart Memorial Chapel with Rev. Barry Hayes officiating. Interment will follow at Stilwell City Cemetery under the direction of Hart Funeral Home of Stilwell. The body will be available for viewing all day Thursday at Hart's, and the immediate family will be at Hart's to visit with friends and family between 6 pm and 8 pm on Thursday. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the First United Methodist Church or St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Tulsa.