Marilyn Jane Starnes, 74, of Grinnell, Iowa passed away on October 29th, 2026, at MercyOne Newton Medical Center due to a heart attack.

A visitation will be held one hour prior to the funeral service, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Friday, November 6, 2026, at Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell. The funeral service will begin at 11:00 am at Smith Funeral Home, followed by a graveside service at Ivy Hill Cemetery in Malcom. A luncheon will be held in Buckley Dining Hall at the Mayflower Community following the graveside service.

Memorials may be designated to the family and mailed in c/o Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, Iowa 50112.

Marilyn was born on October 7, 1952, in Grinnell, Iowa. She was the ninth child born to Ernest and Grace (Paul) McDonald. Marilyn was raised on the family farm in Newburg alongside her siblings. She graduated from Grinnell High School in 1971.

On June 9, 1988, Marilyn was united in marriage to Dennis Starnes in Grinnell. To this union the couple had two children, Heather and Michael.

Marilyn loved feeding people and spent her career doing so. She held jobs in the kitchen at Saint Francis and Grinnell Hospital before finally going to work in the dietary department for the Mayflower community, where she spent over 26 years until her passing.

Marilyn loved camping and fishing at Diamond Lake with her husband and children. She was an avid reader, loved her garden and spending time with her good friends. Her greatest love was being a grandmother.

Marilyn is survived by her children Heather Starnes, Michael Starnes, her grandson Miguel Ulloa, and her siblings: Annabelle Downey, Donna Strachota (Luis), Diana (Ronald) Parker, Duane (Pamela) McDonald, Ellen (Robert) McLain, Faye (James) Brown, Keith (Phyllis) McDonald, Roger McDonald, Wesley McDonald, Harry “Dean” (Laina) McDonald, and Henry McDonald and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.

She was preceded in death by her husband Dennis, her parents Ernest and Grace, stepmother Jennie McDonald (Duncan), her brothers: James “Kenny” McDonald, Charles McDonald, Paul McDonald and her sister, Dorothy Rhinehart.