William Lavell "Will" "Byrd" "Froggy" Starks, 49, of Duluth, Minnesota, passed away at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 18, 2015, from complications due to a heart defect while awaiting a heart transplant.
He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 25, 1965.
His son, Dyami Starks, put together this "Life and Times" slideshow of his father's life that was shown at his funeral.
The Duluth basketball community mourned the loss of long-time area coach Will Starks. Not only was Starks an assistant coach at Duluth East for many years, he was influential in youth basketball circles.
The Will Starks Basketball League has been around for more than 20 years and serves as a testament to his impact on basketball in Duluth and will be part of his legacy, not only to the game, but to the many lives he touched.
Players like former Duluth East standouts Quinton and Shaquille Coleman, who remember 'The General', as Starks was called as a tough but caring coach and father figure.
"You know, he pushed us to the wall and made us work harder," said Quinton Coleman, who now runs track at the University of Minnesota. "He knew that we all could be better than we thought, not just as basketball players, but as athletes. He wanted to get us all to the next level." "He always wanted to make sure we were doing the right things," said Shaquille Coleman, who played basketball at North Iowa Area Community College last season. "If we weren’t in the gym with him, he’d text us to see how we were doing, make sure we were staying out of trouble. You know, he was just always there."
"His first love was his family, but his second love was this game," added former Duluth East Head Coach Chuck Tolo. "He didn’t care who he taught it to. He didn't care what their skin color was; he didn't care what their ability was, but the one thing he made sure they did was, they better be ready to work; kids had to work hard."
Will was preceded in death by his father William Daniel Starks, who died of a massive heart attack at the age of 54, and his brother Keith Romell Starks.
He is survived by his mother Dorothy Lee Seiber; wife Rebecca "Becky" (Lasham) Starks; son Dyami Starks (Dyami's basketball highlights); daughters Aubree Hope Ronchak and Dasia Starks; grandson Kyrin Ronchak-Snow; brothers Duane Byrd and Andre Starks; and sisters Gwyn Gaiter and Lavasha (Nikki) Hardrick.
Memorial Table at the MEMORIAL SERVICE, 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 2, 2015, at the Washington Center, 310 N 1st Avenue W, Duluth, Minnesota.
Celebration of Life: 12 Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 27, in the Williamson's Funeral Home, 2157 N 12th street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Please join us in celebrating a man who impacted countless adults and youth in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We wish to invite any and all players he has coached as well as all former and current players who participated in the WSBL (Will Starks Basketball League). He dedicated his life to helping those in this community, and he would want nothing more than to see all the lives he's influenced reunited in celebrating his life.
He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 25, 1965.
His son, Dyami Starks, put together this "Life and Times" slideshow of his father's life that was shown at his funeral.
The Duluth basketball community mourned the loss of long-time area coach Will Starks. Not only was Starks an assistant coach at Duluth East for many years, he was influential in youth basketball circles.
The Will Starks Basketball League has been around for more than 20 years and serves as a testament to his impact on basketball in Duluth and will be part of his legacy, not only to the game, but to the many lives he touched.
Players like former Duluth East standouts Quinton and Shaquille Coleman, who remember 'The General', as Starks was called as a tough but caring coach and father figure.
"You know, he pushed us to the wall and made us work harder," said Quinton Coleman, who now runs track at the University of Minnesota. "He knew that we all could be better than we thought, not just as basketball players, but as athletes. He wanted to get us all to the next level." "He always wanted to make sure we were doing the right things," said Shaquille Coleman, who played basketball at North Iowa Area Community College last season. "If we weren’t in the gym with him, he’d text us to see how we were doing, make sure we were staying out of trouble. You know, he was just always there."
"His first love was his family, but his second love was this game," added former Duluth East Head Coach Chuck Tolo. "He didn’t care who he taught it to. He didn't care what their skin color was; he didn't care what their ability was, but the one thing he made sure they did was, they better be ready to work; kids had to work hard."
Will was preceded in death by his father William Daniel Starks, who died of a massive heart attack at the age of 54, and his brother Keith Romell Starks.
He is survived by his mother Dorothy Lee Seiber; wife Rebecca "Becky" (Lasham) Starks; son Dyami Starks (Dyami's basketball highlights); daughters Aubree Hope Ronchak and Dasia Starks; grandson Kyrin Ronchak-Snow; brothers Duane Byrd and Andre Starks; and sisters Gwyn Gaiter and Lavasha (Nikki) Hardrick.
Memorial Table at the MEMORIAL SERVICE, 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 2, 2015, at the Washington Center, 310 N 1st Avenue W, Duluth, Minnesota.
Celebration of Life: 12 Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 27, in the Williamson's Funeral Home, 2157 N 12th street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Please join us in celebrating a man who impacted countless adults and youth in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We wish to invite any and all players he has coached as well as all former and current players who participated in the WSBL (Will Starks Basketball League). He dedicated his life to helping those in this community, and he would want nothing more than to see all the lives he's influenced reunited in celebrating his life.
William Lavell "Will" "Byrd" "Froggy" Starks, 49, of Duluth, Minnesota, passed away at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 18, 2015, from complications due to a heart defect while awaiting a heart transplant.
He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 25, 1965.
His son, Dyami Starks, put together this "Life and Times" slideshow of his father's life that was shown at his funeral.
The Duluth basketball community mourned the loss of long-time area coach Will Starks. Not only was Starks an assistant coach at Duluth East for many years, he was influential in youth basketball circles.
The Will Starks Basketball League has been around for more than 20 years and serves as a testament to his impact on basketball in Duluth and will be part of his legacy, not only to the game, but to the many lives he touched.
Players like former Duluth East standouts Quinton and Shaquille Coleman, who remember 'The General', as Starks was called as a tough but caring coach and father figure.
"You know, he pushed us to the wall and made us work harder," said Quinton Coleman, who now runs track at the University of Minnesota. "He knew that we all could be better than we thought, not just as basketball players, but as athletes. He wanted to get us all to the next level." "He always wanted to make sure we were doing the right things," said Shaquille Coleman, who played basketball at North Iowa Area Community College last season. "If we weren’t in the gym with him, he’d text us to see how we were doing, make sure we were staying out of trouble. You know, he was just always there."
"His first love was his family, but his second love was this game," added former Duluth East Head Coach Chuck Tolo. "He didn’t care who he taught it to. He didn't care what their skin color was; he didn't care what their ability was, but the one thing he made sure they did was, they better be ready to work; kids had to work hard."
Will was preceded in death by his father William Daniel Starks, who died of a massive heart attack at the age of 54, and his brother Keith Romell Starks.
He is survived by his mother Dorothy Lee Seiber; wife Rebecca "Becky" (Lasham) Starks; son Dyami Starks (Dyami's basketball highlights); daughters Aubree Hope Ronchak and Dasia Starks; grandson Kyrin Ronchak-Snow; brothers Duane Byrd and Andre Starks; and sisters Gwyn Gaiter and Lavasha (Nikki) Hardrick.
Memorial Table at the MEMORIAL SERVICE, 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 2, 2015, at the Washington Center, 310 N 1st Avenue W, Duluth, Minnesota.
Celebration of Life: 12 Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 27, in the Williamson's Funeral Home, 2157 N 12th street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Please join us in celebrating a man who impacted countless adults and youth in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We wish to invite any and all players he has coached as well as all former and current players who participated in the WSBL (Will Starks Basketball League). He dedicated his life to helping those in this community, and he would want nothing more than to see all the lives he's influenced reunited in celebrating his life.
He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 25, 1965.
His son, Dyami Starks, put together this "Life and Times" slideshow of his father's life that was shown at his funeral.
The Duluth basketball community mourned the loss of long-time area coach Will Starks. Not only was Starks an assistant coach at Duluth East for many years, he was influential in youth basketball circles.
The Will Starks Basketball League has been around for more than 20 years and serves as a testament to his impact on basketball in Duluth and will be part of his legacy, not only to the game, but to the many lives he touched.
Players like former Duluth East standouts Quinton and Shaquille Coleman, who remember 'The General', as Starks was called as a tough but caring coach and father figure.
"You know, he pushed us to the wall and made us work harder," said Quinton Coleman, who now runs track at the University of Minnesota. "He knew that we all could be better than we thought, not just as basketball players, but as athletes. He wanted to get us all to the next level." "He always wanted to make sure we were doing the right things," said Shaquille Coleman, who played basketball at North Iowa Area Community College last season. "If we weren’t in the gym with him, he’d text us to see how we were doing, make sure we were staying out of trouble. You know, he was just always there."
"His first love was his family, but his second love was this game," added former Duluth East Head Coach Chuck Tolo. "He didn’t care who he taught it to. He didn't care what their skin color was; he didn't care what their ability was, but the one thing he made sure they did was, they better be ready to work; kids had to work hard."
Will was preceded in death by his father William Daniel Starks, who died of a massive heart attack at the age of 54, and his brother Keith Romell Starks.
He is survived by his mother Dorothy Lee Seiber; wife Rebecca "Becky" (Lasham) Starks; son Dyami Starks (Dyami's basketball highlights); daughters Aubree Hope Ronchak and Dasia Starks; grandson Kyrin Ronchak-Snow; brothers Duane Byrd and Andre Starks; and sisters Gwyn Gaiter and Lavasha (Nikki) Hardrick.
Memorial Table at the MEMORIAL SERVICE, 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 2, 2015, at the Washington Center, 310 N 1st Avenue W, Duluth, Minnesota.
Celebration of Life: 12 Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 27, in the Williamson's Funeral Home, 2157 N 12th street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Please join us in celebrating a man who impacted countless adults and youth in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We wish to invite any and all players he has coached as well as all former and current players who participated in the WSBL (Will Starks Basketball League). He dedicated his life to helping those in this community, and he would want nothing more than to see all the lives he's influenced reunited in celebrating his life.
Family Members
Parents
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
