Theron "PeeWee" Starnes

Theron Eugene “PeeWee” Starnes Sr. of Natchitoches LA, passed away Wednesday Aug 19th 2020 at the age of 82. “PeeWee”, as he was affectionately known to friends & family, was born Aug 24th 1937 in Monroe, NC. He was the youngest of 8 children born to William Vance & LouZettie Baker Starnes. Funeral Services for PeeWee Starnes will be held at 10 am on Saturday, August 22, 2020 in the Chapel of Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Central Cemetery in Robeline. The family will receive friends from 5 pm until 8 pm on Friday, August 21, 2020 in the chapel. PeeWee learned to work hard at a young age, that work ethic would become his trademark throughout his life. To his family & friends, he was known as being one of the hardest working men they’d ever known. While a young man, he began to develop his love for fast cars, motorcycles & auto racing, he would take both his work ethic & love for fast cars with him when he moved to Natchitoches LA in 1956. It was there where he met & married his wife of 61 years on May 30th 1959, Helen Hall Starnes. It was in Natchitoches where PeeWee put down new roots, worked hard, built their homes where he & Helen raised a family of 4 children for the remainder of his life. PeeWee loved both fast and old cars, motorcycles & trucks, as well as racing them! His love for auto racing began on the dirt tracks of NC & came to fruition while in LA, building & wrenching several very successful race cars, including his beloved #79 “The Oak Grove Stud”. He was also a huge NASCAR fan, particularly his favorite driver, the late Dale Earnhardt. PeeWee was the consummate “tinkerer”, he loved to tinker, to take old things & make them useful again. From old cars & trucks to lawn mowers & 4-wheelers. He loved to tinker when he got home from work. PeeWee was a bricklayer his entire life, not just any bricklayer, he was the best & a very successful one at that! He continued to work diligently at his profession, forever perfecting his craft, until his health began to fail him well into his 70’s. His work will continue to be seen & admired for many years to come by homeowners from LA to NC. He would be very proud of that! PeeWee was preceded in death by: his parents, William & LouZettie Starnes; his brothers, Harrison, Bud, Willie & Wildred Starnes; his sisters, Mary Melton, Ann Clark & Carol “Pete” Richardson; his son, Theron Starnes Jr & his grandson, Wesley “Wes” Rollo. Those left to cherish his memory are: his wife Helen Hall Starnes; his daughters Bridget Briley (Louis), Sonya Rollo (Jeff) & Melisa “Missy” James (Chad); daughter-in-law Melony Boydston Starnes; granddaughter Ashley Johnson (Jason); grandsons, Luke Briley (Desiree), Vance Starnes (Katy), Caine Starnes, Brodie Starnes, Andy James & Landry James; and 9 great grandchildren. The family would ask, in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the W.A.R. Foundation, created in memory of PeeWee’s grandson Wes Rollo. The foundation provides dream fishing trips for pediatric cancer patients. Donations are tax deductible & can be sent to WAR Foundation 301 Plantation Point, Natchitoches LA 71457. The family would also like to thank PeeWee’s caregivers at the Courtyard of Natchitoches. Particularly, Karen, Kim & Judy, you held a special place in his heart! Thank you for taking such good care of our Daddy!