Obituary of Betty Starks

Betty Lou Starks Memorial services for Betty Lou Starks of Winfield, MO will be held at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, May 15, 2005 at St. Paul United Church of Christ near Old Monroe, MO. Rev. Jeanne Lischer will officiate. Mrs. Starks, 73, died early Friday morning, May 13, 2005 at Troy Manor in Troy, MO. Born April 10, 1932 in Hannibal, MO, she was the daughter of William Edgar and Mary Ethel Porter Smashey. She graduated from Hannibal High School in 1950. She taught in rural schools of St. Charles County near West Alton, MO. She was united in marriage to Phillip Starks in 1952 at Hannibal, MO. Mrs. Starks received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO in 1972. Retiring from Lincoln County R-IV School District in 1982, she stayed active with the Winfield Elementary School as a reading buddy until 2004. She was a long time member of the Makin Memorial Methodist Church in Winfield where she played the piano and organ for many years. In later years she attended the St. Paul United Church of Christ near Old Monroe. She was a member of the Missouri State Teachers Association and later the Missouri Retired Teachers Association. Betty enjoyed quilting and ceramics. Besides her parents, William and Mary Smashey, she was preceded in death by one sister, Ruth Dickensheets; three brothers: Robert Smashey, Cebern Smashey, Gene Smashey; and seven other infant brothers and sisters. Survivors include one son, James Phillip Starks and his wife, Sue, of Platte City, MO. She also leaves several nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Mrs. Starks was cremated at Broder Cremation Service in St. Charles, MO. Memorials may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society or the American Cancer Society in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 3838 East Highway 47, P.O. Box 253, Winfield, MO 63389.