Mary Elizabeth (Wrenn) Starke |
| Posted 2017-07-24 by Pat R |
| Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) Saturday, December 12, 2015 On her 97th birthday, December 8, 2015, Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Starke died peacefully with family by her side at Providence Healthcare. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 8, 1918 to parents William and Eva Wrenn, Betty moved to Boston where she met and married Leo Rosen in 1937. The couple settled in Arlington, Virginia, where sons Larry (d. 2015) and Marc were born. Following an amicable divorce, Betty and the boys drove across the country to Wickenburg, Arizona, where they lived for 2 years. It was here that Betty met Wesley Arthurs Starke. The two married in 1951 in Toronto and began a second family that included Joanna, Libby, Lily-Ann and Bill. Betty was past president and a member of the American Women's Club for over 50 years, a member of the Horticultural Society of Toronto, a founding member of the Women's Investment Group started in 1981 and a Real Estate Agent since 1970. An avid gardener, she relished time at both the family home in Leaside and farm property east of Toronto. She was a world traveler who experienced much of Canada, Southeast Asia and parts of Europe. Until recently she was a member of the Donalda Club and the Granite Club. Beloved mother of Larry, Marc (Bala), Joanna (Philippe), Libby (Elizabeth), Lily (Gunther) and Bill (Jenny), cherished grandmother of Christine (Wil), Michael (Jackie) and Philip, Jurgen (Meghan), Laura, Carly, Evany, Emma and Laina and great-grandmother of Luca and Isabella. Her positive outlook and reassuring nature touched the lives of all who had contact with her and her sage advice and joy in humanity will be remembered and greatly missed. The family would like to extend their thanks to the wonderful staff at Houses of Providence for their kind and committed service and to Belle Dingcong, our mother's friend and helper for 3 1/2 years. A celebration of Betty's life will be held Saturday, January 30, 2016 at Mount Pleasant Visitation Centre at 375 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto (east gate entrance) at 2 p.m., with a reception to follow. See Also: Find A Grave |
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