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Sue and Stan Starkey at a fund-raiser for the St. Louis Center, an organization Sue helped support through volunteer work.
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The Chelsea community lost a "staunch advocate" and "a good friend" when Susan M. Starkey died Dec. 24 after a four-year struggle with pancreatic cancer.
She passed away at her home in Chelsea, surrounded by her loving family. She was 60.
Starkey was closely involved in numerous community organizations, particularly the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce and the St. Louis Center in Sylvan Township.
"Sue was not only a good friend of the chamber but a good friend to everyone she came in contact with," said Bob Pierce, executive director of the chamber, a position Starkey held from 1997 to 2000.
Pierce said he owed his position to Starkey, who recruited him to join the chamber's Ambassadors Club, which ultimately led to him becoming director in 2003.
He recalled that she was the kind of person who could make your day brighter just by seeing her.
"No matter when you saw her there was always a smile on her face and she had some kind of uplifting comment to get you through the day," Pierce said.
"She was a wonderful woman; she touched so many people in her role with the chamber and in all her other community involvement."
Pam Radcliffe met Starkey in 1998 when Radcliffe started volunteering at the chamber office.
"She was a leader and a cheerleader, and got people to follow her," Radcliffe said.
"She never left anything to chance - if she took responsibility for a project you knew that it was going to be done and done well. She was very well organized."
Like Pierce, Radcliffe also made note of Starkey's sunny disposition.
"She always looked on the bright side of life, no matter what was going on her personal life," Radcliffee said.
"She inspired the people around her to give their very best, because she always gave her very best."
Starkey followed current Chelsea Mayor Ann Feeney at the helm of the Chamber of Commerce.
"Sue re-energized the chamber and its board of directors with new ideas and new energy," Feeney said. "She was just what the chamber needed."
Starkey also spent much of that energy as a community advisory board member on behalf of the St. Louis Center, a residential facility for the developmentally disabled west of Chelsea operated by the Servants of Charity Catholic religious order.
"Sue will be greatly missed by the folks here at the St. Louis Center, both by our residents and our priests," said Public Relations Director Joe Yekulis.
"She was always a staunch advocate for us and did a great deal of work behind the scenes, especially with fund-raisers. She would have done anything for us within her abilities."
Yekulis noted that as recently as Nov. 3, Starkey, her husband Stan and their oldest son Todd took an active part in the center's annual dinner and auction, and the family was deeply involved with the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.
"Sue was totally part of the fabric of the community," Yekulis added. "She was just a dear, dear person and a friend to everybody."
Sue Starkey was born Sept. 10, 1947, the daughter of Robert and Marilyn (Schlegel) Kansorka.
Born and raised in Toledo, Sue graduated from Toledo Waite High School in 1965. She attended Bowling Green State University, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education in 1970.
On Aug. 24, 1968, she married Stanley R. Starkey. Throughout their marriage she was an elementary teacher in several states including Ohio and Florida, as well as in Chelsea.
The Starkey family moved to Chelsea in 1977, and Sue became an active leader in the community.
She was a member of the Chelsea Hospital Auxiliary, in which she participated in several of their fund-raising gala events, as well a board member of the Chelsea Education Foundation.
Most importantly, and the center of her life, were her children and grandchildren. She loved watching her kids and grandkids at sporting events, and was sure to be on the sidelines rain or shine.
Sue was a true inspiration to those who knew her during her nearly four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. She faced her illness with unparalleled dignity, grace and courage.
She will be missed, but never forgotten by those whose lives she impacted so dramatically.
Sue is survived by her husband, Stan, of 39 years; her two sons Todd (Beth) Starkey of Chelsea, and Chad (Mara) Starkey of California; six grandchildren: Tanner, Cameron, Quinn, Jack, Sarah, and Will; her mother-in-law Maryellen Starkey of Northwood, Ohio; as well as two brothers, Robert Kansorka of Oregon, Ohio and Dennis (fiancÈe Karen) Kansorka of Woodville, Ohio.
She was preceded in death by her parents; one grandson, Drew Starkey; and her father-in-law, Stanley E. Starkey.
Funeral services were held Dec. 29 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Chelsea with the Rev. David L. Lane, the Rev. Dr. William J. Turner and the Rev. Fr. Joseph Renaldo co-officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Louis Center's "Dress the Children Fund" or the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
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