Cherry Starr speaks at the podium during halftime of the the Packers-Vikings game on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Cherry Starr, widow of former Green Bay Packers player and coach Bart Starr, has died.
The Starr Children’s Fund announced her death on Tuesday. She was 89.
The Starrs met in high school in Birmingham, Alabama. They came to Green Bay when Bart was selected in the 1956 NFL draft.
Bart Starr went on to become the Packers’ starting quarterback during their glory years under Vince Lombardi, winning five NFL championships between 1961-67, as well as the first two Super Bowls.
Bart Starr also coached the Packers from 1975-83.
During their time in Green Bay, the Starrs were active in the community. Notably, they helped found Rawhide Boys Ranch, a home for troubled youth near New London.
Cherry Starr took a leadership role as family spokesperson after her husband suffered two strokes and a heart attack in 2014. During a trip to Green Bay in 2017, the family said it would be Bart’s last visit. He died at age 85 in 2019.
Cherry Starr continued his legacy. At the beginning of the last football season, she wrote letters of encouragement to all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks. The quarterbacks all responded by donating autographed helmets to be auctioned off in the Starr Children’s Fund Helmets for Heroes online auction during Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month in September.
She visited Green Bay in 2021 for the dedication of the Bart Starr Memorial Bridge and for the groundbreaking of the Bart and Cherry Starr Museum at Rawhide.
In lieu of flowers, Cherry Starr’s obituary asks for donations to any charity or to the Bart and Cherry Starr Foundation, 2647 Rocky Ridge Lane, Birmingham, AL 35216.
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