JUANITA YAGER STARK

JUANITA YAGER STARK, a resident of the Moscow Community and wife of the late Walter R. Stark, Jr. died at 8:35 P.M. Saturday, May 9, 2009 at the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis where she had been a patient for thirteen days. She was 85 years of age and died following a brief illness.

Funeral services for Mrs. Stark were conducted at 2:30 P.M. Tuesday, May 12th at the Peebles Main Funeral Chapel in Somerville with Rev. Lynn Eagan of Collierville, retired Pastor of the Morris Memorial Baptist Church in Moscow, officiating. Interment followed on Thursday, May 14th in the National Veteran's Cemetery on Jackson Avenue in Memphis. Arrangements were provided by Peebles Fayette County Funeral Homes-Main Chapel of Somerville.

Mrs. Stark was born January 20, 1924 in Portageville, Missouri, the daughter of Walter Lee Yager and Mary Sue Doyle Yager, longtime residents of the Moscow Community, before their deaths.

She moved at an early age with her parents to Fayette County and was a graduate of the Fayette County High School in Somerville, Class of 1942 and completed her education at the Memphis School of Commerce.

She was married in 1951 to the late Walter Randolph Stark, Jr., U.S. Army Veteran and longtime employee of the Motor Vehicle Department of Bell South Telephone Company.

Mr. and Mrs. Stark were residents of Memphis and Nashville during Mr. Stark's employment with the telephone company and she served as an Office Secretary in both cities in earlier years. After retirement they moved to the Moscow Community where she had been a resident since 1975.

Mrs. Stark was a member of the Collierville First Baptist Church and will be remembered as an accomplished Seamstress who enjoyed growing plants, flowers and vegetables.

She was a former member of the Memphis Garden Club and completed studies at the Watkins Institute in Nashville where she received training in home decorating and the making of cornice boards, draperies and sewing.

She will be remembered as a devoted daughter, wife and sister who held a special closeness to her family, community and church friends.

Survivors of Mrs. Stark include her sister, Sara Moore (Howard) of Bartlett; eight nieces: Nancy Smith (Jim) of Moscow; Kristine Osborne of Houston, TX; Mary Catherine Simmons (Mike) of Moscow; Pam Ritchie (Troy) of Memphis; Sarah Jean Lane and Sheila Mulcahy, both of Alabama and Rose Marie Navratil and Debbie Dickinson, both of Colorado; four nephews: Carey Stark, Warren Stark, Robert E. Stark and Russell Stark and a number of great-nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by a sister, Frances Fears and a brother, John Yager.

Those honored to serve as casket bearers were Jim Smith, Mike Simmons, Troy Ritchie, Mike Yager, Ernest Yager and Jimmy Yager.

Honorary casket bearers were Robert Stark, Carl Fears and Howard Moore.

The family requests that memorials be directed to the Collierville First Baptist Church, 830 New Byhalia Road, Collierville, TN; Phone: (901) 854-0101.