John W. Starnes

John W. Starnes passed away Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at the age of 79. Born in Albertville, he was the son of Gene and Lucille Starnes, a direct descendent of John Gunter and the Cherokee heritage. He finished high school at Albertville where he was a member of the band and played basketball, but his passion was baseball. He played first base for the high school, as well as a men’s league during the offseason, but an early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis prevented him from pursuing that passion in college. He would later coach Little League baseball. Because of his height, he was called “Big John”. After high school, he attended Marion Military School and Snead College before finishing with a business degree and a law degree from the University of Alabama. He was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and the Phil Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. He finished law school in 1965 and practiced law in Marshall County until his appointment by Governor Wallace as district attorney where he served from 1973 until 1987. He was the youngest elected to serve in the legislature, representing Cullman and Marshall Counties from 1966 to 1970. He was a member of the Marshall County and American Bar Assn and the state and national District Attorneys Assns. He was currently the Supernumerary District Attorney for the 27th Judicial Circuit. He served as state chairman of the Standard and Goals Committee under the Omnibus Crime Act and Region I (15 counties) chairman of the Alabama Law Enforcement Planning Agency. He served on the State Supervisory Board of the State Executive Committee of ALEPA and on the State Juvenile Advisory Board of ALEPA. He was on a committee to review reported child abuse cases in this county, and he has been affiliated with HOPE PLACE, a home for abused spouses and children. He was instrumental with creating the Lake Guntersville State Park, Talladega Speedway, Huntsville Space and Rocket Center, Lurleen B. Wallace Drive, and with the Lake Guntersville Boat Races( sponsored by the Guntersville Jaycees) when the world record for jet powered boats was broken on Guntersville Lake . John married Dottie Little (Mosley) in college and had two daughters, Melissa Brazelton-Reeves and Lucy Starnes (deceased). He also had two grandchildren, D.J. Brazelton and Lilli Grace Reeves. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: Guntersville First United Methodist Church 539 Gunter Avenue Guntersville, AL 35976 The John W. Starnes Scholarship Fund C/O Citizens Bank & Trust 711 Gunter Ave. Guntersville, AL 35976

John W. Starnes

May 11, 1939 - September 18, 2018