Ruby Starr, age 92, passed away on Thursday, March 29, 2018, at Windsor Nursing Home in Iola, Kansas, after a courageous battle with cancer.
Ruby Louise Mitchell was born in Westphalia, Kansas, on March 23, 1926, to William Edwin and Pearl Edith (Lankard) Mitchell. She graduated from Westphalia High School in 1943. After graduation she taught in elementary schools across Anderson County for five years. She was united in marriage to Wilmer "Clarke" Starr on January 31, 1948, in the Methodist Church in Garnett, Kansas. They were married for 66 years before his passing in 2014. Together they raised their son, Wayne. The two settled in Western South Dakota in 1955 and farmed throughout the area there and in Kansas their whole lives. Ruby and Clarke semi-retired in 2005 and they moved back to Kansas. Throughout her adult life Ruby was dedicated to her family's farming business. She enjoyed planting flowers around her home and playing with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Ruby was a dedicated housewife and an office manager for her husband's businesses. She managed the family's business until the very end.
She was a member of the Presbyterian Church in Iola, Kansas, and Bison, South Dakota. She was also a life member of the Fairview Chapter Order of the Eastern Star in Bison, South Dakota.
She is survived by her son, Wayne Starr and wife, Diann, Estelline South Dakota; one sister, Edna Boots, Tulsa, Oklahoma; one brother, Bob Mitchell and wife, Ginny, New Strawn, Kansas; five grandchildren, David Starr, Estelline, South Dakota; Carol Jergenson and husband, Ryan, Fargo, North Dakota, Mary Heckenlaible and husband, Lee, Freeman, South Dakota, Linda Miller and husband, Derek, Watertown, South Dakota, and Nancy Starr, Brookings, South Dakota; six great- grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, and countless friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Clarke, on April 2, 2014; her parents; and two nephews, Donald and Edwin Mitchell.
A visitation will be held from 6 pm to 8 pm, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, in The Venue at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service, Iola, Kansas. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 4, at the First Presbyterian Church, 302 East Madison, Iola, Kansas. Burial will follow in the Welda Cemetery, Welda, Kansas. Condolences may be left for the family at
www.feuerbornfuneral.com
.