Dorothy Starr ~ 1923-2007

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, a family-owned children's amusement park in the Dundee area drew families from throughout the Northwest suburbs.

George and Dorothy Starr ran Funland Kiddy Park from 1954 through 1972, offering families a chance to ride the carnival attractions and enjoy a picnic lunch.

"We drew people from all over," George Starr says. "They liked to take a ride out into the country."

Dorothy Starr, who had worked side by side with her husband to run the business, passed away Monday. The longtime Algonquin resident was 83.

The couple ran the children's amusement park as a partnership, with George Starr supervising the rides and their operators, while his wife ran the concession stand and managed the ticket operators.

There were 10 rides in all, including a 36-foot carousel, a roller coaster and a 40-foot Ferris Wheel, as well as smaller children's rides.

"The centerpiece of the park was the train," George Starr adds. "It ran for a half-mile and snaked around inside the park."

The park's season ran from late spring through the summer, taking advantage of the warmer weather. The rest of the year, Mrs. Starr was a homemaker, and a talented one at that, her husband says. She was an expert seamstress and a capable cook, as well as an artist.

"She was a quiet person, but very talented," he said.

The couple met in Chicago, and were married on June 17, 1944. Earlier this summer, they celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary.

Their future running an amusement park together, seemed certain. George Starr's grandfather had been a carnival operator, and his parents ran concessions at Riverview Park in Chicago. Running a local business, served as a springboard for the couple.

Near the end of the park's run, George Starr became interested in local politics, and he served on the McHenry County board and as Algonquin Township supervisor, while his wife supported his efforts in the background.

"She always was behind me in everything I did," Starr added.

Besides her husband, Mrs. Starr is survived by a son, Gary (Mary Frances) of Algonquin, and a grandson, Gregory.

Funeral services for Mrs. Starr will take place at 10 a.m. today at the Wait Ross Allanson Funeral & Cremation Services Chapel, 201 S. Main St. in Algonquin.