V. Hale Starr

V. Hale Starr, 85, of Des Moines, died on February 1, 2022. Hale was born in Winner, S.D. on July 31, 1936. She was married to Cameron J. Starr. Their son, C. Jay Starr, was born in 1961, and died in 1980.

Hale was a life-long learner and promoter of education. She attended Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota, and during her time there, she was active in debate and politics. She continued her con-tributions to that school through her life, ultimately serving on the Board of Trustees. She then went to Rapid City and acted in the Community Center plays and directed several of those as well as several at the S.D. School of Mines & Technology where she was a teacher in the English Department. In the early 1970’s Hale moved to Iowa City to study at the University of Iowa in its Communication Studies Department, chaired by Professor Sam Becker, a pioneer in the field of Communication. She earned her Masters Degree and then her PhD in Speech Communica-tion in 1979. Her doctoral thesis focused on nonverbal communication of power, an entirely new field of research and endeavor at the time.

In the 1980’s, she established Starr and Associates and soon was work-ing 100+ hours a week and traveling across the United States providing expert counsel and advice to lawyers in litigation, e.g., the selection of juries (based on nonverbal cues), witness preparation, and research of community attitudes/prejudice that could influence the composition of potential juries. Hale was a pioneer in the field of professional trial con-sultation. She worked on some of the most complicated cases of nation-al prominence, with lawyers whose names were frequently seen in the national news, as well as for individuals who needed that assistance.

During her years as a trial consultant in litigation, she authored two books, the first, "Jury Selection," has become a standard work for how to select juries. She later wrote “Witness Preparation”, which expanded upon her expertise in the field of preparing witnesses for their testimony at trial.
While pursuing her professional career, Hale was consistently involved in and committed to movements for expanding the rights of women. She was a mentor to many young women and generously provided a home, as well as a home base of support to numerous family members and friends.

In 1978, Hale was a founding member of the Des Moines group "the Consortium", a women’s business breakfast group and remained a member through the years.
She became a resident of Carefree, Arizona in 1991 because she was captured by the "most beautiful sunsets in the world.” While there she also developed a love for the beauty and transcendence of kaleido-scopes, resulting in her own collection of more than 200 kaleidoscopes ranging from a few inches high to those which needed professional movers to place. She lived in Carefree until 2018 when she moved to Cottonwood and where she lived until mid-December 2021 when she re-turned to live among friends in Des Moines.

Hale was known and admired for her quick wit, good judgment and ability to tell stories that were unique and often complicated. Hale had an ex-tended "family of friends” both in AZ and in Des Moines. She is survived by two sisters, many nieces and nephews and many close friends and loved ones.

Because of her desire to further science, Hale donated her body to the Body Donor Program at Des Moines University and her brain specifically to Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center.

There are no immediate plans for services but there will be a celebration of life in the spring of 2022. Memorial gifts may be made to: the C. Jay Starr Memorial Scholarship Fund [#30180012] at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244-4550.

Print

Leave message