Margaret Railey "Jean" Starr

Mrs. Margaret Imogen "Jean" Railey Starr, 95, passed away Wednesday, July 5, 2017, in Fullerton, California. Born February 27, 1922 in Boxville, Kentucky to Samuel Railey and Ama Zigler Railey. Jean was the youngest of five daughters, Ruth, Mary, Amelia, and Lucille. She graduated from Morganfield High School. She was working as a telephone operator when she met a young Army man, John Starr, fell in love and was married for 67 years. As an Army-wife she traveled far from her Kentucky home. Her favorite posts were in Salzburg, Austria and Okinawa. The last post brought them to Ft. Monroe, Virginia, and upon retiring they moved to Lakeland, Fla., where they enjoyed 30 years. After John's death, Jean moved to Fullerton, California to be closer to her two youngest children. Raising seven children, Johnny, Sippy, Mickey, Amy, Becky, Tami, and Tommy was her greatest accomplishment and joy. While feeding a large family was challenging, she learned to cook and became quite the Chinese Chef. She had a sweet tooth and loved to try out new dessert recipes. Traveling to see children and grandchildren over the years brought her so much joy. She supported John in his love for flying, she loved gardening, flower arranging, sewing, and had a slight obsession for "nice" shoes. As a devoted wife and mother, she always put her family first. Jean leaves behind her sons, John B., Jr. (Ilene), Dr. Robert M. (Jane), Tom, and her daughters, Sippy Cesare (Fran), Amy Hubbard (Jim), Becky Ferrell (Steve), and Tami Paulus (Mark). The legacy of her memory will be carried forward with her grandchildren, Kim, Robin, Nick, Brent, Ryan, Mike, Jennifer, Jeff, Jonathan, Jason, Audie, Austin, and her 28 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. A memorial service was conducted at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, September 2, 2017, at the graveside in the Greenville Cemetery. Claude A. McKibben and Sons Funeral Home of Hogansville was in charge of arrangements.