Cherry Starr, wife of the late Bart Starr, waves to the crowd during a ceremony for Starr at halftime of the game between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sept. 15, 2019 in Green Bay. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WI (WSAU) – Cherry Starr, the widow of Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr, has died at the age of 89.
According to a statement from her son, Bart Starr Jr., she passed away peacefully, saying, “Yes, we did lose mom, who passed away so peacefully. It was a perfect ending. Our sadness will not match our gratitude. She sure loved and admired you, as we all still do.”
Starr passed away at her Birmingham, Alabama, home with her family and close friends by her side. Her passing comes nearly five years after the passing of her husband, Bart Starr, who passed away in 2019.
Her last visit to Green Bay was for a Packers Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2022. However, she is most remembered for visiting the region in 2021 to see the Bart Starr Memorial Bridge dedicated.During the ceremony, she spoke about a 1956 phone call that profoundly altered her family’s life, saying, “It was my sweet Bart calling from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where the Packers were training in those years because they didn’t have a proper training camp here. He said, ‘Honey, pack your bags and get to Green Bay. I have made the team and signed a contract for a whopping $6,500.”
Bart Starr became a Packers legend, leading the franchise to five NFL titles. The most famous of those titles was the 1967 Ice Bowl at Lambeau Field, which cemented him in the history of the NFL, Green Bay, and all of sports.
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