Mary Edna Starner

1926–2021

Mary Edna Starner peacefully stepped into Heaven on March 4, 2021, the day after her 95th birthday.

Born on March 3, 1926 in Baltimore, she was the only child of William H. Meeks, Jr. and Mary Edna (Eades) Meeks. They lived in the Westport area of Baltimore until she was 9 years old, when they moved to the Brooklyn area.

Mary Edna graduated from Southern High School in 1944 and received a scholarship from Gettysburg College, from which she graduated in 1948 as an English major with minors in Latin and Education.

Her first teaching position was at the Children’s Rehabilitation Institute for Cerebral Palsy in Baltimore County, where she instructed the junior and senior high students in all subjects, and later became principal of the education portion of the Institute.

In 1949 she married her college sweetheart, Marlin Kenneth (Kenny) Starner, with whom she shared 19 wonderful years. When their daughter was born in 1954, she stopped teaching for a time. Soon thereafter, she helped to develop and launch St. John’s Christian Day School at her church, eventually teaching a variety of grades there.

After the death of her beloved husband in 1968, she helped start a support group at her church, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, for widowed individuals, a local chapter of THEOS (They Help Each Other Spiritually).

In the early 1970’s, Mary Edna became involved in Stonecroft Ministries, serving in many different capacities in the Baltimore / Glen Burnie area, and was later an Area Representative. Eventually she was asked to be a speaker for their Luncheon and Dinner Meetings, Christian Women’s Clubs. She traveled much of the East Coast, telling stories from her life and sharing how people can have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. She became a popular speaker for women’s retreats and Mother/Daughter functions. This gave her great joy, as did leading Bible Study and Prayer Groups and teaching Sunday School.

She was a member of the Lansdowne Alliance Church for nearly 40 years, having previously attended St. John’s (now St. John) for almost that long. She loved serving the Lord through the church and her work with Stonecroft. She also loved books, music, people, and teddy bears. And everyone loved her beautiful smile.

In 2017, she moved, along with her daughter and son-in-law, to South Carolina, where she enjoyed life in the country next door to her eldest granddaughter and family.

Mary Edna was a devoted mother to Mary Beth Bergey (Harry); a doting grandmother to Diana (Jennifer), Timothy (Danielle), Stephen (Cassidy), Benjamin (Allyson), and Sarah (Josh), and was a delighted great-grandmother to Drew and Amelia; Josiah and Christopher; and Levi, Kenna, and Jocelyn.

Always a teacher, Mary Edna donated her body to the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date (Update: see above for information on how to watch the service recording). Gifts in her memory may be made to the Lansdowne Alliance Church, 2212 Lansdowne Road, Halethorpe, MD 21227, or to the Christian ministry of your choice.

She would want everyone to remember her lifelong motto: “There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.”

The family is grateful to the staff of Southern Oaks Rehabilitation and Health Care, and Traditions Hospice for their loving and compassionate care during the last months of her life.