Bio by Joan Starr-Eftis

Sander Jeffrey Starr
1968-2010
Beloved son, brother, good friend

Sander was a good soul with a warm heart. He had a great sense of humor and people liked him. Friends came from Albuquerque and Austin to say good-bye to Sander. Even his dentist came to the funeral because he said that Sander always made him laugh!

Sander grew up in El Paso, Texas in the 70’s and 80’s when El Paso was a wild and wooly town. Tumble weed grew in the empty spaces. He graduated from Coronado High School in the top 20% of his class. He was smart. He played the sax in the marching band.

He completed 2 years at the University of New Mexico. While he was in Albuquerque he played the bass guitar in punk rock bands. He also played the drums and sang. He was a good musician and always identified himself as a musician. It was here that he began to fool around with drugs which became his downfall. While he was in the booneys of albuquerque he had a tragic encounter with an undercover cop who did not identify himself. Sander did not know he was a cop and they got into an altercation. The cop shot Sander and he died and was resuscitated. His life changed forever. He was in constant pain after this.

He lived for about 7 years in Los Angeles. Here he lived in an Ashrahm and studied Krishna and Eastern thought. He became spiritual and interested in philosopy and different religions. One day he was walking down the street in his Krishna robes, when an old Jewish man stopped him and asked him why he was studying Krishna instead of Judaism and explained to him some details of Judaism that he was not aware of.  Sander then began to go to a Chabad and pray and study Judaism!

During his time in L.a. he was married to Shannon. They separated after about 5 years. He liked being a father to her young son.  After his step-father died he returned to El Paso and took some courses at the El Paso Community college.

He was always proud of his Jewish heritage. He loved Jewish food, and culture. He would often pray to God to help him with his problems. He liked expressing himself in unconventional ways. He covered his body with tatoos and piercings. He wore eccentric clothes. He rode a motorcycle with the word “Jew” printed in large letters on it! All the time proud of who he was.

He wanted to marry his long-time companion, Erin Dow. He wanted to have a home and a family like his brothers, Darren and Ken, whom he admired greatly. But his health problems and disease got in the way.

Sander was a good soul, unconventional , sensitive , wild and wooly, he will always be remembered as a son, brother and friend. Rest in Peace.  Our hearts ache to say good-bye, beloved son.