Wiipamąkere - Rainbow

MADISON - Alberta Whitehorse Starnes, age 95, passed away on Sunday, September 6, 2026. She was born on August 10, 1931, in Galloway Wis., to Ralph Whitehorse and Annie (Greencrow) Whitehorse. After graduating from high school in Waukegan Ill., she continued her education at Olivet Nazarene College in Kankakee Ill., where she earned a bachelor's and master's degree in Education.

For more than 30 years, she was a beloved educator who enriched the lives of students in places like the Menomonie Reservation in Antigo, Wis., and in Grant Park and Bourbonnais, Ill. She also worked as a substitute teacher while her husband, Sam, served as a pastor in Grover Hill and Montpelier, Ohio and in Pawhuska Okla. Alberta was a counselor at the Oregon Girls Reform School. One of her great joys was helping others develop an authentic understanding of Indigenous life and traditions through her classes, shared feasts, and lectures.

Alberta was active in the Church of the Nazarene as a Sunday school teacher, choir member, Vacation Bible School director, district representative on several boards and committees, and supportive pastors' wife. Singing was another of her passions. Alberta and her daughters often traveled with Rev. Starnes to revivals, where she sang.

After the unexpected deaths of her first husband and first son, she became a young widow. Determined to pursue a college education in nursing, she made the difficult decision to leave her daughter in the care of family. She met Sam Starnes at Olivet in 1956, and they married in August 1958. Together, they shared 68 years of marriage.

Alberta was blessed with four children, David R. Fell (deceased), Theresa (Jack) Hartman, Brenda Neff and Daniel Starnes. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Richard, Phillip, Deanna, Gavin, Devin and Danica; five great-grandchildren, Bentley, Cullin, Adeline, Genevieve, and Lilith; and her siblings, Walter Whitehorse and Helen Whitehorse. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph Whitehorse and Annie (Greencrow) Whitehorse; her siblings, Harry Whitehorse, Mildred Hendrix, David Whitehorse and Paul Whitehorse; husband, David L. Fell; and son, David R. Fell.

A service will be held at CROSSPOINT CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE, 5011 Commercial Ave., Madison, at 1 p.m. on Monday September 14, 2026, with Pastor Sebastian DeVore. Visitation will be held at the church from 12 noon until the time of the service on Monday. A meal will follow the service at Teejop Hocira, 4724 Tradewinds Parkway, Madison. Her final resting place is at Roselawn Memorial Park, Monona

Memorials may be made to Alzheimer’s Association. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East

Funeral & Cremation Care

5203 Monona Drive

(608) 221-5402

Alberta Starnes

August 10, 1931 - September 06, 2026

Share memories of Alberta