Debbie (Debra) Lynn Starr, 66, daughter of Virgil and Sylvia (Tate) Bridges, was born Feb. 4, 1955 in Port Hueneme, Calif. She lost her battle with cancer while at home in her sleep on Feb. 5, 2021. Debbie grew up in Missouri with her mother, father, and siblings Gerald Bridges and Melody Schaffer. As a young adult, she worked at A&W and a corner drug store, then later went on to work at Brown Shoe Co., where she met her husband Allen Starr. Debbie married Allen Starr on Aug. 2, 1984 and together they had two daughters, Amanda and Lindsay. In 2016, she gained a son-in-law, Josh York. In October 2017, Amanda and Josh gave Debbie her granddaughter, Brooklynn York. Spending time with family was one of the most important things to Debbie. Many summers were spent at the lake camping and playing on the water. Debbie, Allen and the girls loved relaxing on the boat at Bull Shoals Lake and playing games at the campground. The entire family would also organize a weekend summer trip every year to catch up and spend time together. One thing that Debbie loved doing was decorating. She made some of the most beautiful, creative decorations. While Amanda and Lindsay were young, she would do her best to make the holidays magical by completely decorating the yard with hundreds of lights and figurines. She even won several Christmas lighting contests. For many years, she would decorate the First Christian Church for Christmas and arrange the baptistry flowers year-round. Anyone who knew Debbie knew that she loved being outdoors. Her favorite thing to do was gardening. Together with her husband, they transformed their back yard into a garden sanctuary with all the flowers and vegetables anyone could want. She would spend all summer working in the dirt and growing tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, okra, peas, and so much more. Once her vegetables started flourishing, she would not let anyone that visited leave without an arm load of fresh veggies. She also enjoyed caning her produce. She made the best pasta sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, and pickles. Debbie is survived by her daughters, Amanda and Lindsay; son-in-law, Josh; and granddaughter, Brooklynn, of Houston; mother, Sylvia Bridges, of Cabool; sister, Melody (Neil) Schaffer, of Carlyle, Ill.; and Gerald (Vicki) Bridges, of Mountain Grove; and several nieces and nephews. Debbie was a loving mother, daughter and friend. She worked hard each day to give her family the best life possible and never failed to show her loved ones how important they were. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew and loved her. Online condolences may be sent to www.evansfh.com. Services were held Monday Feb. 8, 2021 at Houston First Christian Church with Ryan Schaffer officiating. Private Family Burial in Pine Lawn Cemetery. Services were under the direction of Evans Funeral Home. Pallbearers were Marvin Adams, Neil Schaffer, Devin Schaffer, James Marrah, Joe Crum and Gaylord Ragain.
