ELLEANOR STARKS FEATURE:
In your own words, who is Elleanor Davis Starks?
Elleanor is a product of Detroit’s ‘Motown Experience’ having lived next
door to a musical writer that exposed her to the likes of Little Stevie Wonder, The Miracles, and The Temptations. Growing up as one of 11 children
(7 boys-4 girls) and educated in the Catholic Schools and Public High
Schools of the city, Elleanor’s parents stressed education, family, and
community, and were role models in the Conant Gardens community
of Detroit. Her mother was an educator, so higher education was never
an option; the choices were doctor, lawyer or education professional. Her
parents set examples early for not only their children, but also everyone
in the community. Her family home was where everyone wanted to be
because they got help with homework, special school projects, piano lessons, a meal, electrical training, and a chance to work on the weekends.
Her parents helped her understand that it takes a village to raise children
and when you get to the pinnacle of success you have to lift others up
along the way and take someone with you. Elleanor values these lessons
and they have molded her into the person she is today. This is Elleanor,
the girl with two long ponytails from Conant Gardens!
History Museum. We honor Living Legends with over 50 years of service in
the industry, and these are just a few things we have accomplished and
I feel that we are an important organization for women in the industry
and women anticipating a career in funeral service. We are here to assist,
What have you always wanted to be growing up?
My dad had 3 careers for us to choose growing up: You could be a
doctor, lawyer, or teacher. I decided I loved children and I would be a doctor, maybe a pediatrician. Then one day as a teen, my neighbors started
bringing hearses and limousine home from work and the mystery of the
hearse and death amazed me. I wanted to be a Lady Undertaker, but
that was short lived when my dad got wind of me talking about it and
explained to me that was a man’s job and that I seemed to have gotten
off track, so it took 6 years of college and several careers and a couple of
kids before I decided I’m not doing what is fulfilling for me. After reading
an embalming book at work, I enrolled in Gupton Jones College of Funeral Service and the rest is history.
In your view, how important is the Hundred Black Women’s Funeral Association?
After I got into funeral service and attending conventions I found I was
missing something since meeting some phenomenal women that inspired me such as: Dottie Hector; NFDMA past president Catherine Payne;
M. Athalie Range; Lottie Weldon; and Fredericka Nash. I worked for 2 years
with them to help me guide me to bring women and their talents in a
positive educational organization to help us be the best of the best. In
1993, the 100 Black Women of Funeral Service was introduced at the NFDMA Convention in San Antonio, Texas during our first educational session
and awards program. Today, I’m just as excited about the organization as
I was then. We started with 3 scholarships and 3 awards, which were given
to the great Catherine Payne, June Jeffers, and Mary Louise Winston. This
past year we were able to give close to 30 scholarships; although we normally average 20. We recognize women’s achievements in the industry.
We have had Women’s Empowerment conferences. We have the Lottie K.
Weldon Mentoring program. We do the Annual African American Funeral
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educate and help women achieve their career goals. Women are a strong
backbone to the success of funeral services and we want to always encourage this success through membership.