Alice Fern (Cleaveland) Starbuck, aged 89, passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on August 26, 2021, at 12:30 a.m. with her daughter, Linda, by her side.
Alice was born in a small town near Alamosa, Colorado, on Dec. 9, 1931. She was the tenth child of Joseph Grover Cleaveland and Mattie Rello Sloniker. In 1934, her family moved to Moab with a team and wagon. They worked a homestead in Fisher Valley, but during the winter the family would move into Moab so the kids could go to school.
Alice met Alvin Starbuck in 1947. When he saw that cute little blonde on the sidewalk, he was smitten and they married on July 9, 1948. They moved to Salt Lake City where they raised three children. When the kids got older, Alice started working outside of the home. Her last position was as a travel agent for the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. Over the years, the couple enjoyed such things as camping, fishing, boating and water skiing, spending time in their mountain cabin, touring on their Honda Gold Wing motorcycle, hunting for arrowheads and building rock structures with her brother Harry.
The illness which took her life also took many years of her presence from us but every once in a while she would shine through and those were the moments we lived for. Alice was an amazing wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. She will be greatly missed by all those who loved her.
She is survived by her husband of 73 years, Alvin H. Starbuck; her son, Dee Starbuck (Tari); her daughters, Cissie Mullaney and Linda Starbuck; 12 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; one great-great-granddaughter; her brother, David Cleaveland (Sandy); and many nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her brothers Freethies, Oscar, Joseph Grover (Junior), Thomas, Harry, William (Bill), and Sidney; her sisters, Guyda, Rosetta, and Sarah; her foster sister, Barbara Rantz; her granddaughter, Skylie Starbuck; her grandson, Clayton Schneider; and her son-in-law, Jim Mullaney.
A funeral service will be held on Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church (420 Mi Vida, Moab). A graveside service will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens (2651 Spanish Valley Drive).
You may send condolences to the family at www.spanishvalleymortuary.com
