CHARLES CITY — Rose Mary Starr, 87, of Charles City, died Sunday, August 16, 2026, at her home surrounded by family.
A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, August 20, at Hauser Weishaar Funeral Home in Charles City. Burial will follow at Sunnyside Memory Gardens in rural Charles City. Visitation is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 19, at the funeral home and will continue for one hour before Thursday’s service.
Rose was born May 15, 1939, in Mason City to Henry and Julia McLaughlin Theilen. She grew up on the family farm and faced significant responsibility early in life. After losing her parents while she was young, Rose helped care for her brothers and sisters. She later graduated from high school in Elma.
On August 3, 1957, Rose married James “Jim” Henry Starr at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. Their marriage would span nearly seven decades and produce a large family that became a central part of Rose’s life.
Rose spent much of her life as a homemaker while raising six children. As they grew older, she took on several other roles, including working as a substitute school cafeteria cook, selling Avon and eventually serving for many years as a certified nurse’s aide providing home health care. Caring for others was a theme that ran throughout her life.
She was active in the rosary society at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rockwell and enjoyed the friendship of a neighborhood coffee group. During the early 1980s, Rose even attended North Iowa Area Community College alongside her daughters to study sign language.
Rose enjoyed cooking, working with flowers and watching hummingbirds. Her creativity showed through the quilts and clothing she made for members of her family.
Summers often meant trips to the family’s “Starr Cabin” in Minnesota, where Rose, Jim, their family and friends enjoyed camping and fishing. Trout fishing with her sister-in-law Betty was among her favorite outdoor activities. Rose and Jim also spent many winters along the Gulf Coast.
Family remained especially important to Rose throughout her life. She took an active interest in her grandchildren and regularly supported their school activities. Her family remembers a woman whose willingness to care for people, offer kindness and put others before herself defined much of her 87 years.
Rose is survived by her husband of 69 years, Jim Starr; children Carolyn (Jim) Schwickerath, James Starr, Timothy (Lori) Starr, Thomas (Charlene) Starr, Todd (Jessica Williams) Starr and Teresa Starr; 16 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; brothers John Theilen and Joseph Theilen; sisters Joanna Lubbert, Katherine Welshans, Julia Natvig and Anna Jones; special friend Phillis Nelson; and numerous nieces, nephews and other family members.
She was preceded in death by her parents; great-granddaughter Amelia Schwickerath; daughter-in-law Jean Starr; brothers Marlan, Harold, Theodore, Henry and James Theilen; and special friend Louie Nelson.
Hauser Weishaar Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
If you would like an obituary, remembrance or tribute story published in NIT, please email the details to NORTHIOWATODAY@GMAIL.COM. This is a free service.