Margaret Ellen (Macklin) Starr, 100, died February 12, 2016, at Mennonite Friendship Comm-unities. She was born Nov. 1, 1915, to Willie Ira and Sarah (Strohmeyer) Macklin, in Hutchinson. She attended Central Grade School, Sherman Junior High and Hutchinson High School.

In November of 1932, she married Clarence Merle Cecil. They had 2 children, Paul Fredrick and Elizabeth Joan. This marriage ended in divorce in 1940. To support herself and her children, Margaret became a butcher at a local grocery. There she met William (Bill) E. Starr and they married on January 9, 1943. Their daughter, Gloria Jean, was born November 8, 1943.

In 1946, Margaret started Starr Curtain Laundry, specializing in fine curtains and table linens. She continued this at-home business until the family moved to the Valley Pride area of South Hutchinson. There she was finally able to have a large flower/vegetable garden and was well known for her "every spring front-yard plant sale." She also loved to bowl and became a secretary for bowling leagues at Riverside Lanes in South Hutchinson.

For a short time she worked at the old Wolcott Building, running the elevator. She and her husband, Bill, helped run the Chili Bowl yearly at the Kansas State Fair.

Due to declining health, Margaret and Bill moved to Nickerson, in 2000, to live with their daughter, Joan. Bill passed away in 2005. In 2010, Margaret decided she wanted to live at Mennonite Manor, near her old neighborhood. There she could renew friendships with people she had known in the area.

Margaret is survived by: daughters, Joan Brown and husband Charlie of Abbyville, and Gloria Chadwick and husband Hubert of South Hutchinson; daughter-in-law, Barbara Cecil of Round Rock, Texas; 10 grandchildren: 17 great-grandchildren; and 13 great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, son, Paul Frederick Cecil, grandsons, Michael Edward Brown, and Michael Shayne Haynes, and all of her siblings.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday February 20, 2016, at Elliott Mortuary Chapel, Hutchinson, with Pastor Kim Serio presiding. Burial will follow in Fairlawn Burial Park, Hutchinson. Friends may call from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. until service time Saturday at Elliott Mortuary. Memorial contributions may be made to Mennonite Friendship Communities, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.