Cheryl Chastain Dietrich Starry

Cheryl Chastain Dietrich Starry, age 66, of Fayetteville entered into heaven Tuesday, March 5, 2013, at the Willard Walker Hospice Home in Fayetteville. Cheryl was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 12, 1946 to the late Dennis and Willie Chastain. She was a graduate of North Little Rock High School in 1964 and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in 1968, earning a Bachelor's degree in English and Art and a Master's degree in Educational Media and Technology. She continued her learning throughout her teaching career, taking courses through the University of Maryland and UCA to obtain additional degrees. Cheryl became an art educator of middle school children in North Little Rock, Arkansas in 1969, then had a life changing opportunity in 1981 to teach for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Camp Darby, Italy. She spent 14 years in the Pisa area before moving to Aviano, Italy in 1995. She taught English, Art, and was a media specialist. She was the yearbook editor, set designer for school plays, and submitted students' art work to the annual DoDDS Mediterranean Art Festival where her students received multiple awards and citations for their work. It was at Camp Darby that she met her husband of 30 years, Dean, on the very first day she arrived. Together they enriched many students' lives and got to travel all over Europe together. After more than 40 years of teaching middle and high school children, she retired in 2006. She returned home to Arkansas to care for her aging parents. It was while she was caring for them that Cheryl was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer in 2007 and battled its return several times until she could fight no longer. In addition to her teaching career, Cheryl was passionate about the arts. She began painting at age 16 and pursued every opportunity to teach others how to create artwork. She herself was an accomplished artist and many of her paintings are enjoyed by friends and family around the world. She was preceded in death by her parents, Willie Edwards Chastain and Dennis Shelby Chastain and her husband, Glen Dean Starry. Cheryl is survived by her son, William Michael Dietrich, his wife, Heidi, both of Fayetteville; and four grandchildren, Kristin, Christopher, Alex, and Ian Dietrich, also of Fayetteville. The family will receive friends on Friday, March 8, 2013, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Little Rock Funeral Home, 8801 Knoedl Ct. (NW corner I-630 and Barrow Rd.). Services will be held on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at 1 p.m. at the funeral home, followed by interment at Rest Hills Memorial Park in Sherwood. In honoring Cheryl's artistic passions, the family asks that donations be made in lieu of flowers to the Thea Foundation for the Arts at www.theafoundation.org. Arrangements by Little Rock Funeral Home, (501 )224-2200. Cheryl's online guestbook may be signed at www.littlerockfuneralhome.com.