Reprinted by permission
From the September 9, 2001 Spokesman Review - Spokane, WA
Isamu Jordan- Staff writer

Betty Starr donned an all-white dress, gracefully accepting hugs from a stream of supporters after a three-hour memorial service for her husband, the Rev. Tom Starr.

''Betty is wearing white because she is not mourning. She is rejoicing because she knows her husband is with the savior he loves,'' said Valley Fourth Memorial Church Pastor John Underhill, who delivered Tom Starr's eulogy at the church Saturday.

Starr's body has been missing since Aug. 30, when the Coast Guard found a capsized boat he was aboard during a fishing trip near La Push, Wash. The Coast Guard has recovered the bodies of Starr's three grandsons, Ryan Floch, 20, Andrew Floch, 19, and James Starr, 19, who were along for the trip.

About 1,600 people gathered Saturday in three buildings for a memorial service for Tom Starr in the Spokane Valley.

Half of the audience watched the service from video feeds in the Valley Christian School gymnasium and Bowdish Junior High School.

The service began with a slide presentation highlighting the lives of Starr, 67, a founding pastor of Maranatha Bible Church, and his family.

A tape recording of one of Starr's sermons played in the background. His voice offered comforting words during tragedy, heartache and sorrow, immortalizing the gentility of his conversational style.

''We get caught up in our four score or whatever years we have on this earth, when our time with God is an eternity,'' Starr told his family and friends.

There was much laughter during the service, as those closest to Starr shared fond memories and humorous anecdotes that captured the essence of his life and the lives of his grandsons.

Starr's oldest brother, Charles, shared the story of how his brother got hooked on fishing while watching a veteran fisherman in action.
He moved close to get a good look and ''caught a hook in the back of his head,'' Charles Starr said.

''Dad had to drive him 50 miles to the hospital to have the hook removed,'' he said.

Underhill talked of Tom Starr's dislike for coffee, which probably resulted from drinking a concoction he cooked up with his brothers in his youth: a bucket of scum water, a pound of coffee and two raw eggs, shells and all.

Ryan Floch was remembered for his fear of spiders, love of cats, and ''never knowing what hair color he would come home with,'' said Pastor Larry Snyder of Heritage Church in Odessa.

Of Andrew Floch, Snyder said, ''you remind us of Grandpa, with your ability to make everything an adventure.''
Tom Starr's middle daughter, Becky Paul, said his legacy of faithfulness to God and Jesus survives.

''His greatest joy would be in knowing that although he is no longer here, you can see the passion of his life,'' Paul said.

More members of Starr's family would have been along for the fishing trip, but they chose to stay home and prepare for the wedding of Shane and Virginia Moon, Starr's granddaughter, last Saturday.

Don Ensor, the pastor-in-training at Maranatha Bible Church under Starr, officiated the wedding ceremony in Starr's place.

The Floch brothers will be memorialized today at their alma mater, Odessa High School in Odessa, Wash. The service, in the gymnasium at 311 S. First, is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m.

Isamu Jordan can be reached at (509) 459-5299 or by e-mail at isamuj@spokesman.com

Click here for memorial service pictures and story
Click here for a tribute to Tom Starr by pastors and friends
Click here to read the Spokesman-Review article about the life of Tom Starr written by Kelly McBride