Dorah Lea Starcher Trenholm, 84

Dorah Lea Starcher Trenholm, 84, of Lakeland, Florida, was born on January 17, 1936, in Mar France, West Virginia, to Dorothy Frances Exline Starcher and Kenneth Starcher. She was 1 of 13 children and raised in a coal mining community of Appalachia. At the age of 17, Dee moved to Erie, Pennsylvania in search of a better life. She met and later married John W Huegel and they had three children, Veronica (Viki), Allison and John II. Additionally, she was a foster parent to over 40 children from birth through teens.

Early in her life, she worked at the Erie Times Newspaper. Dee had an entrepreneurial spirit and for many years owned and operated a clothing store in Edinboro, PA featuring women’s and bridal clothing. She was the first female President of the Edinboro Chamber of Commerce and was actively involved in her community. After her youngest son was in college and in her 40s, she closed the business and attended college, receiving a Bachelor’s degree.

With her eldest daughter, Viki, she moved to Tampa, Florida in search of new adventures and opportunities. She worked for PRIDE of Florida, teaching work skills in the Florida prison system. Dee then met and married her neighbor, H. Lee Trenholm. They enjoyed their lives in Maine, Florida and California. They traveled the world, visiting Australia, Scotland, Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and points across the US, meeting and making friends along the way. Dee never met a stranger, just a friend she hadn’t found yet.

Dee loved gardening and visiting lighthouses and she was certainly a sentinel for her children, friends, and family.

Dee is predeceased by her daughter, Veronica (Viki), parents Dorothy and Kenneth Starcher, sisters Nellie Hodges and Peggy Clancy, brothers Ray, Eddie and John Starcher and her husband, H. Lee Trenholm. She is survived by her daughter Allison (Jim Sergi), son John (Natalie), three grandchildren, Kelly Nott (Ryan), Jennifer Duda (Michael), and Lee Sergi and two great grandchildren, Caden and Willow Nott.

She leaves behind her siblings, partners and children of Ruth White and Ida Woodring, Quinwood, WV; brothers, Charles Starcher and wife, Brenda, of Providence Forge, VA; Stephen (Dick) Starcher, Davenport, FL; and Brenda Starcher, widow of Ray Starcher, Charmco, WV.

There will be no immediate service. A remembrance service will be scheduled in the future. Condolences may be sent to the family at Gentry-Morrison Funeral Homes.