Obituary of Wesley John Starkenburg

Wesley “Wes ”John Starkenburg, 69, of Edina, MN, passed away on November 17, 2019, from complications of Parkinson’s and Lewy Body disease.  

A Celebration of Wes’s Life will be held at 2:00 PM, Friday, December 6, 2019 with reception to follow, at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403.  

The family is considering having a Celebration of Life to be held in Sandy, Utah in the spring.  

Wes was born in Parkston, South Dakota on December 6, 1949.  He attended Dakota Christian High School for three years and then one year at Corsica Public High School where he graduated in 1967.   Wes continued his education for two years at SD School of Mines and then two years at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD where he earned a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering.   In 1989 he received a Masters in Business Administration from Arizona State University.  

Wes was married to Virginia Mills in Tel Aviv, Israel in February 1982; they were married 17 years when the marriage ended in a divorce in 1999. Wes and Virginia have two children, Alex and Ashley (Mina).  After the divorce Wes raised the children as a single parent.  Wes had a relationship with Marcy Brown for 10 years.     

Wes worked for the City of Winslow, AZ after he graduated from college until 1977.  In 1977 Wes sold all his belongings and went on an around the world trip for 18 months. During his travels he visited Malaysia, Yemen, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.  Upon returning to the United States he worked for Morrison Knutson in Phoenix.  He then worked for an international company and worked on road construction in Portugal, Israel and Egypt. During his work abroad for two years he explored the countries where he lived and he traveled to England, Germany, the Netherlands and the Sinai Peninsula.  

Upon return to the US Wes worked in Phoenix and Pinetop, Arizona, Irvine and San Diego, California and Salt Lake City, Utah in construction until he joined the Utah Department of Transportation where he worked until he went on disability leave in 2012.   

Wes lived in his own home in Cottonwood Heights, Utah until 2015 when he moved into Assisted Living in Utah.  He moved to Edina, MN in July, 2017 as Myra, who lived there, was his main caregiver. He lived with Myra for a short time and then entered care centers, the last being English Rose Loch Wood, Edina, MN, who provided excellent care.   

Wes was very involved with his church the Community of Grace Presbyterian Church, Sandy, Utah.  He served as Deacon and was an active member of the Men’s Study Group.  The church members were very supportive of Wes after his Parkinson’s/Lewy body diagnoses. 

The family is so thankful that Wes was able to travel before his illness as he loved to travel. Wes belonged to the Utah Miata Club and loved his green Miata sports car. Wes also obtained a pilot’s license while in Utah. He loved hiking the trails around Salt Lake City with his good friend, Marcy. He was also an active member of the Cottonwood Recreation Center.   

Wes is survived by two children Alex (Lacey) and their children, Liam and Ender, Bountiful, Utah; Ashley (Mina) (partner Hugo-Sami-Gonzales) and children Caleb, Lily from Westminster, CA, Felix and Maximilian of Orem, Utah; Myra Starkenburg, sister and Wes’s main caregiver, Edina, MN; Evelyn (Rich) Lane, sister who travels full time in their RV, and Ralph Starkenburg, brother, of Golden Valley, MN;  Mike (Dana) Bultsma, Nephew, Lakeview, MN;  Melinda (Mark) Carpenter, Hammett, ID, niece; and Kelly (Chris) Call, niece, Oshkosh, WI.    

Wes was preceded in death by Father, John Starkenburg in 1998 and mother, Menna Dykstra Starkenburg in 2011.   

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to: 

University of Utah- L.S. Skaggs Patient Wellness Center Salt Lake City, UT 84108    

To Donate:  https://healthcare.utah.edu/locations/skaggs/#donations 

                       Click on donate now, if you want family to be notified fill in  

                       Evelyn Lane 

                       3916 N. Potsdam Ave #4575    

                       Sioux Falls, SD  57104    

The donations are used to pay for clients who do not have the means to attend.            

Wes attended this Wellness Center for exercise, dance, boxing and other activities, all of which were focused on helping those with Parkinson’s to stay more active.  Wes danced in a couple of their fundraiser performances.