More detail on this person: LTC (ret) James
Edward Starkey 82, passed away on March 24,
2014 after a brief illness. He was born July 6,
1931 in Clarksdale, Arizona the only child of
Margaret and Herman Starkey. When he was six
months old the family moved to Prescott, Arizona.
On July 4, 1934 he rode his pony Choki in the
Prescott parade. He was the youngest contestant
and was joined by the movie heroes, Tom Mix and
Andy Devine. The family moved to Tucson at the
beginning of World War II when his father was
transferred to the Southern Pacific Railroad. Jim
attended Sam Hughes and Blenman grade schools,
Catalina Junior High and Tucson High. He excelled
in all sports, especially baseball. He was on the
All-Arizona State baseball team in 1948 and 1949.
In 1948, as a junior he was named the best pitcher
in the state of Arizona. In 1949, after leading
the Tucson High badgers to the state
championship, he was again accorded that honor.
As vice president of the senior class he was named
a speaker at the Tucson High 1949 graduation. He
enrolled at the University of Arizona on a
baseball scholarship in the fall of 1949. Two
years later with the start of the Korean War, he
was drafted into the Army. After basic training he
was sent to Officer's Candidate School and became
a Regular Army Officer. He was a master aviator in
both fixed wing and helicopters. He served two
tours in Korea, two in Viet Nam, one in Germany
and two in Iran. During his last tour in Iran he
was the aviation advisor to the Shah of Iran. He
was awarded the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars
for valor, and 11 air medals for valor and
numerous foreign medals. When his mother's health
required his attention he retired and returned to
Tucson where he became an innovator in the senior
care field. He owned and operated La Casa
Esperanza Supervisory Care Homes for 22 years.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Shirley
Condit; his sons, James Starkey, Jr. of Tucson;
Patrick Starkey of Dallas, TX and Rick Starkey
(Michelle) of Hoffman Estates, Ill and his
daughter, Peggy Musselmann (Rick) of Ft. Collins,
CO; his grandchildren, Jesse and Gina Starkey of
Tucson; Rachel, Sarah and John Musselmann of Ft.
Collins, CO; Zack and Ryan Starkey of Hoffman
Estates, Ill; his cousins, Patrick Lyle Nash of
Tempe, AZ and Betty Jo Anderson of Chandler, AZ
and his pug dog, Taichi. Jim was an avid Wildcat
fan, a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, a Tucson High
Athletic Hall of Fame honoree, and lifetime member
of the NRA. He loved hunting, fishing, skiing and
traveling. He was generous, affectionate and
loving to every member of his family. He wanted to
instill patriotism in his grandchildren so he
insisted that when each grandchild was nine years
of age that child would be taken to Washington, DC
for ten days to see how our government functioned.
His kids and grandkids describe him as smart,
funny, logical, stern, persistent, competitive,
helpful, honest, a larger-than life leader with a
wicked sense of humor. Memorial Service with full
military honors will be held at 10:00 a.m.,
Saturday, April 19, 2014 at EAST LAWN PALMS
MORTUARY. In lieu of flowers the family wishes
donations to the Wounded Warrior Project .com.
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
Published in the Arizona Daily Star on Apr. 13,
2014
This information was last updated 03/06/2012
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