April 11, 1930 Jon M. Stark May 2, 2023
Jon gave us a portrait of life well lived.
In his own words: "Success resides within me and will bear fruit when I know myself, accept myself, activate myself and enjoy myself."
Jon's family invites friends to attend his funeral mass Monday May 22 10:00 AM at St. Eugene's Cathedral San
OBITUARY:
Jon M. Stark
It is with sadness that we share that Jon Milford Stark, 93, of Santa Rosa passed away peacefully on May 2, 2023, at his home with his beloved wife and his daughter by his side. He was a generous, hardworking member of his community who loved his family very much. Jon is survived by his wife of 60 years, Maria Teresita (Terry) Esteva; his daughter, Annemarie and her husband, James Bailey; his son, Eric and his wife, Jeannette Schram of Portland, Maine; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Jon was born April 11, 1930, at the start of the Great Depression to Vernon and Dorothy (Anderson) in the small town of Dayton, Iowa. Although not a farming family, he grew up connected to rural life as his father had a feed business. He played basketball and baseball for the Mount Vernon Mustangs and was the first of his family to go on to college. He graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa in 1952 and served as a Naval officer during the Korean War. Upon completion of his service, he returned to school and completed his MBA at Stanford University. It was there that he met his future wife, Terry.
Upon completing his MBA, he began his life work in financial management with corporations in Zurich, London, and finally corporations in the USA. It was an exciting and demanding career. As Jon approached retirement age, he left the corporate world and began working with small companies that used his financial expertise to grow and succeed. He enjoyed planning and was a master at creating financial projections. This new phase gave him great satisfaction and freedom.
Jon loved Dixieland jazz, a good bottle of wine, golf with friends, tennis when he was younger, and travel. Jon was a generous man, always ready to help. He was a member of Rotary for more than 25 years and served on the Santa Rosa Symphony Board. He had a deep concern for the homeless, so he was an avid supporter of Caritas Center and he was a member of the Burbank Housing board for many years until the time of his death. He never forgot his alma mater, Cornell College, and served as a trustee for many years.
As part of his legacy, Jon wants his children and grandchildren to know about the power of compound interest. He lived by what he called the Jon Stark Creed: “Success resides within and will bear fruit when I know myself, accept myself, activate myself, and enjoy myself.”
The family welcomes you to join in prayer at a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of St. Eugene on Monday, May 22 at 10 am with refreshments to follow at the parish center. A Celebration of life will be held this summer.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to:
Catholic Charities CaritasCenter,www.srcharities.org,
or Burbank Housing, www.BurbankHousing.org.
