August 12, 1924 -January 30, 2010
I had no idea when I volunteered to the do the eulogy, what a blessing it would be for me because during this process, I learned so much more about my grandmother's life. These are not my stories, these are the stories and memories of the family. I was honored to have these stories shared to me through this process and I am thankful to have the opportunity to share them with you.
My Grandmother was a lot of things to a lot of people. To my Grandfather, she was his baby. They were married 68 years and their song was Through the Years, which is exactly how strong their love was. They loved to dance, they loved to play cards and most importantly, they loved each other. This past summer, when their granddaughter Deana was visiting, Grandma spotted Deana applying lip gloss. She said she wanted some too then she decided to walk over and lay one on Grandpap. He was left with shiny lips and a cute little grin to go with them.
They were always affectionate, very affectionate, which many times embarrassed their granddaughter Jessica.
Grandma had a lot of interesting qualities. One of which was her creativity. Every year, she would close off a room at Christmas time to transform a simple room into a miniature village complete with trains coming out of tunnels, bridges, streets, parking lots, mountains, and figurines which she spent tireless hours preparing and painting. The anticipation was overwhelming and you didn't want to spoil the surprise of Christmas but Mary Elizabeth became the victim of her older siblings, Bobby and Patty's curiosity when they told her they would hold her up so she could peek through the crack at the top of the door and tell them what was inside. Guess who got the blame, the little sister.
Grandma also had quite the imagination. One day she was riding in a car with her daughter Louann when all of the sudden she yelled "Look, there's a man in the bushes with a gun". As you can imagine, everyone in the car said where, then they looked back at Grandma...she was looking up at the clouds.
We also knew Grandma at times could be forgetful. Anyone who knows my Grandma knows what a beautiful head of hair she had and she loved to have it washed. For the past few years my mother Mary has been washing it for her and often times she would look up at her and say "this is so wonderful and you're so good at it - is this your job?" She would sweetly reply, no Mom, I do it because I know how much you love it.
Her son Richard told me a story about the day her checkbook went missing when he was a little boy. She was convinced he was the culprit. After a merciless interrogation, she broke him and out came the confession. Just then, the phone rang, it was Alice, her neighbor telling her she left her checkbook on her counter.
Although Grandma's memory was failing her, she never forgot how to love and care for her ailing daughter Patty who unfortunately cannot be here with us today.
There were a few things Grandma was afraid of. She was afraid to fly but that didn't stop her from traveling by motor home to Utah to visit with her daughter Dorothy and her family. During the trip they decided to visit Yellowstone. Grandma was just in awe of Yellowstone and profoundly said, "I never thought I'd ever get to see this".
Grandma also had a fear of drowning and during a camping trip to Kinzua with Mary and her family. Grandma needed a raft to make it from the boat to dry land. While on her journey, she came face to face with a water snake and was hanging on to her raft for dear life in ankle deep water.
Snakes weren't the only creatures Grandma was afraid of. She also had a fear of spiders and thought her laundry room was full of them. Thanks to her son Bobby who in an effort to turn the cellar into a butterfly farm had instead collected cocoons that covered the laundry room with thousands of praying mantis hatchlings.
When the house wasn't full of Praying Mantis hatchlings, you could say Detz and Laverne Starr ran a Bed & Breakfast, for they always had an open door policy. Like in 1950, before Uncle Bob Patton was deployed and he married Aunt Dorothy, their home became the honeymoon suite. They went to great lengths to be sure the happy couple had quality time together before he departed. Since it was two days before Christmas, they even decorated a Christmas tree and put it at the bottom of their bed. They were thrilled, but the night was quickly spoiled when Great Grandpap McHugh decided to escape his upstairs apartment and sit on the bed talking with the newlyweds until 2:30 in the morning.
That wasn't the only time they opened their home to welcome family members. When their niece, Paulette was a little girl, they welcomed her into their already full home so she could attend Holy Innocents School. She would say with her Uncle Detz and Aunt Laverne during the week and go home on the weekends.
Their home was always filled with laughter, food and family. You never had to knock, you just opened the door and you never knew who you would run in to. It was always a gathering of Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends. ...and in her final days, just as everyone would gather in her home, they now gathered by her bedside. Each of us will be blessed if we are surrounded by the love she was while taking her journey to heaven.
Laverne Star was a lot of things to a lot of people. She was the mother to eight children, fourteen grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. She was a loving wife, a friend to many but above all, she was the boss. ....as she reminded her grandson Buddy many times, "I'm not always right, but I'm never wrong".
That was written by Carissa Battista. She did a beautiful job. Thanks Carissa!
My grandma passed away on January 30, 2010. She was a wonderful person and I am very sad to see her go. My mom was with her in her final days. My dad and Charles flew into Pennsylvania soon after.
The services were beautiful. Funerals are never fun but she looked beautiful and peaceful and she had a lot of friends and family come to see her and my Pap. She was very loved. The room was never empty. That is when you know you are a great person. I only hope half as many people are at my funeral.
After the funeral we had a lunchen. It was very nice to have everyone together. I of course was in charge of taking pictures.
Jessica, Louann Starr
Ian and Charles
Charles and I with our Pap
The brothers and sisters with their Dad
Pap's timeless face's. I love them :)
Our family with Pap.
The three daughters showing all their love to their Daddy :)
So the day Charles, my Dad and I were supposed to leave...A big snow storm hit. And when i say big...I mean BIG!!! Schools and business were closed. Cars were covered and stranded on the sides of the road. My Pap's car was buried. It took Charles and Lee A quite a while to find the car!
And of course flights were canceled. We ended up being stuck in Pennsylvania until Tuesday. A full 2 days after our original flight. We had some extra time with family but we were all ready to get home! The day we left another storm was coming. We were really hoping to get in the air before it hit. We did not want to be in Pennsylvania for another week. Luckily we took off in the grey sky. We fought our way through the clouds and saw this...
So beautiful :)
I will close with the poem on the cards from the funeral home.
In Memory of
LaVerne Mae Starr
God saw you getting tired
and a cure was not to be, so
he put his arms around you
and whispered
"Come to Me"
With tearful eyes we watched
you, and saw you pass away
Although we loved you
dearly we couldn't make
you stay. A golden heart
stopped beating; hard
working hands at rest, God
broke our hearts to prove to
us he only takes the best.
H.P. Brandt Funeral Home, Inc
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