Karin Manes stood in downtown Mason along with hundreds of community members and first responders waiting to say a final goodbye to fallen Michigan State Police Trooper Caleb Starr.
Starr died on July 31 – three weeks after a head-on collision with a drunk driver in Boston Township in Ionia County. He was 33.
Manes was supporting Starr’s family as part of a Michigan State Police-organized funeral procession on Saturday morning. A friend of the family for 18 years, Manes watched Starr grow up.
She was his second-grade teacher at Steele Street Elementary School in Mason. She remembered Starr as “shy” but a “very well behaved, good student.”
“His life-long dream was to be a police officer,” Manes said, adding that he worked in another field before joining Michigan State Police in September 2018.
Starr was a “dedicated” trooper, who worked in the Lakeview Post, according to Lt. Brian Oleksyk, a spokesperson for Michigan State Police.
“He embodied what a trooper should be,” Oleksyk said. “He was not only a trooper, but a son, husband and public servant.”
The funeral procession included more than 100 police cars, representing at least 15 state law enforcement agencies.
Three state fire departments, including Onondaga Fire Department, also showed their support.
Lt. James Buttleman of Onondaga Fire and his colleagues raised a large flag near East Kipp and Hull roads so that those participating in the funeral procession could see it as they drove to Starr’s memorial at Mason High School.
“The first responder community is close-knit,” Buttleman said. “My assistant chief, Dan Hamel, is also related to Starr. They are cousins.”
Lee Chaney was among the Mason residents who stopped to see the flag and watch the first wave of the funeral procession.
“It’s pretty amazing,” but tragic, said Chaney, an ER nurse at McLaren Hospital. “There is a camaraderie among nurses and first responders when the fallen goes down. I pray for the family and hope he rests in peace.”
Attendees wore “Starr Strong” T-shirts and waved “Thin Blue Line,” flags, which pay tribute to fallen police officers.
Others decked out their vehicles in flags and portraits of Starr.
The tribute stretched several miles from Kipp and Hull roads to Jefferson and Maple streets in downtown Mason, where the majority of the crowd and rows of Michigan State Police vehicles had lined up.
“Because of COVID-19, only about 100 people can be at the grave site,” according to Oleksyk.
As the procession drew closer, Michigan State Police officers stepped out of their vehicles in succession. Their vehicle lights quietly flashed red behind them.
The officers then saluted as the procession made its way to Starr’s gravesite.
“It’s amazing support. It’s nice to see everyone come together,” said Jamie Rogers, whose husband, Trevor, served with Starr at the Lakeview Post.
Rogers along with several others organized the “Trooper Caleb Starr Benefit Race” on Aug. 15 at 4 p.m. to further honor Starr and support his family.
The race, at Capital City Family BMX, will include an auction and a chance for members of the community to donate money to Starr’s family for medical expenses, food and bills.
Starr is survived by his wife, Rachael; his two daughters, Evelyn, 5, and Rosalie, 2, and other family members.
To learn more about the upcoming fundraiser to help Starr’s family, visit facebook.com/events/206858450724853/
Contact LSJ reporter Kristan Obeng at [email protected] or 517-267-1344. Follow her on Twitter @KrissyObeng.
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