James "Jim" George Starling

James “Jim” George Starling, 88, of East Peoria, died Friday, November 25, 2022. He was born Dec 12, 1933, eldest son of George W. and Jacqueline (Link) Starling. He married Beverly Lorraine Nevitt on June 23, 1953. She survives. Jim graduated from Lanphier High in 1951 after three years at Cathedral Boys High School He then attended Springfield Junior College before transferring to Bradley University in Peoria in 1958. In 1965, he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. All schooling was part-time while holding full-time jobs starting at Sangamo Electric, Pillsbury Mills, 170th and 169th ANG units, IDOT, and lastly, Caterpillar. Jim was active in the Illinois National Guard for nearly 8 years, working full-time for most of those years in operations. At IDOT, he worked as a civil engineer for over 4 years. He retired after 32 years as a senior test engineer at Caterpillar. He was preceded in death by his three sons, Mark, Luke, and Gerald; two sisters, Georgie Erlenbush and Marianne Charles; one brother, John (Dorothy) Starling, and grandson, Josh Lane. Jim leaves behind his wife Beverly; eleven children, Renee (Bob) Crookshanks of Brooksville, FL, Sherry (Tim Taylor) Starling of Pekin, Toni (Larry) Saperstein of Seven Devils, NC, Matt (Kari Mason) Starling of Creve Coeur, Regina Starling of Peoria, Robert (Jill) Starling of Washington, Edward (Brenda) Starling of East Peoria, Brian (Pauline) Starling of Brimfield, Josette (Greg) Tucker of London Mills, Bradley Starling of Peoria, and Jason (Kylie) Starling of Mesa, AZ; 24 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren; plus two brothers, Charlie (Sharon) and Bill Starling. He enjoyed spending time with them as often as possible. Jim was very active in Knights of Columbus, Boy Scouts, and his church (Cursillo, CRHP, DCCM, EME, etc.) His hobbies included golf, tennis, pickleball, doing puzzles in the newspaper, and he was an AVID Cardinal fan. Scouting was a lifelong passion. He volunteered as a leader in the Webelos, Cub, and Explorer units and three troops as an assistant scoutmaster. He and Beverly wintered in Sun City, AZ for 12 years after retirement, resulting in many close friendships with the wonderful people there. He spent his final days in Illinois surrounded by his family. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Monday, November 28, 2022, at Gary Deiters Funeral Home & Cremation Services in East Peoria. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at St. Monica Catholic Church in East Peoria, with an additional 45 minutes of visitation prior to the service at 10 a.m. Fr. John Verrier will officiate. Private burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Springfield. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Monica Catholic Church or The Prostate Cancer Foundation. Online condolences may be left at www.GaryDeitersFH.com.

James "Jim" George Starling

December 12, 1933 - November 25, 2022