Emma Jean Burgess Starkey, 97, of Henderson passed away Sept. 15, 2026, at Southern Oaks Assisted Living.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Crook Avenue with Billy Smith, Charlie Smith, Rodger Holtin and grandsons officiating; burial will follow at Henderson City Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Crook Avenue from 5-8 p.m. on Sunday.
She was born on Nov. 5, 1928, in Lauderdale County, Ala., the daughter of the late George Washington and Mildred Pearl Fowler Burgess. She went to school in Lauderdale County, Ala. She made her home in Florence and worked for F.W. Woolworth’s, W.T. Grant Company, K-Mart and Woolco. She then made her home in Tishomingo, Miss., while there she worked for Sparco and Bill’s Dollar Store in Red Bay, Ala.
She married Edward E. Yarbro in 1954. They lived in Gulfport, Miss. Mr. Yarbro died in 2014.
She married James L. Starkey of Tishomingo in 1980. They made their home in Muscle Shoals and Tishomingo. Mr. Starkey died in 1988. Mrs. Starkey moved to Henderson in 2001 to be close to her children.
While in Tishomingo, she was a member of the Homemaker Volunteers and served as President of the County Council. She taught the Ladies Bible Class at Liberty Church of Christ for several years. She was a member of the Henderson Church of Christ.
She is survived by a daughter, Alice (Rodger) Holtin of Henderson; one son, Tom (Sherrie) Yarbro of Clarksburg; six grandchildren, Erin Foster, Jim Holtin, Andy Holtin, Monica Reynolds, Brian Holtin and Peter Holtin; and eight great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by three brothers, Alvin Burgess, Belton Burgess and Ellis Burgess; and seven sisters, Irene House, Sue Hargett, Audrey Kelley, Flora Goodman, Grace Parker, Pauline Pennington and Vonna Graham.
