{{short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Virginia Starcher | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | state_delegate = West Virginia | district = 11th | term_start = 1987 | term_end = 1991 | predecessor = Bill Carmichael | successor = | prior_term = | party = Democrat | birth_name = Virginia Rae Jolliffe | birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|2|23}} | birth_place = Wheeling, West Virginia | death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|12|19|1930|2|23}} | death_place = Hubbard Hospice House, Charleston, West Virginia | spouse = Harold Starcher |children =Mark and Ann |parents = Roy and Ella Jolliffe |alma_mater = West Virginia University }}
'''Virginia Rae''' "'''Ginny'''" '''Starcher''' (February 23, 1930 – December 19, 2012) was an American politician and schoolteacher from West Virginia, who represented Jackson County and part of Mason County from 1987–1991.<ref name=chardm>{{cite news|last1=Lannom|first1=Andrea|title=Lawsuit claims tainted meatloaf killed former delegate, husband|url=http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20141106/DM02/141109470|accessdate=December 20, 2014|work=Charleston Daily Mail|date=November 6, 2014|archive-date=December 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220181710/http://www.charlestondailymail.com/article/20141106/DM02/141109470|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=WVHOD/>
==Early life, education and teaching career== She was born in Wheeling, West Virginia to Roy and Ella Jolliffe (née Lowe). She attended schools in Cameron, West Virginia before graduating from West Virginia University. She taught at her alma mater, and two secondary schools, Ripley High School in Ripley, West Virginia and Schenectady High School in New York.<ref name=WVHOD>{{cite news|title=HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 30|url=http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2013_SESSIONS/RS/Bills/hr30%20intr.htm|agency=West Virginia House of Delegates|date=March 29, 2013|archive-date=December 19, 2014|access-date=December 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219093822/http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2013_SESSIONS/RS/Bills/hr30%20intr.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Political career== Starcher's early work with the federal government included stints at the Central Intelligence Agency and Library of Congress.<ref name=WVHOD/> She later served as Jackson County commissioner.<ref name=chardm/> A Democrat,<ref>{{cite news|title=Starcher, Ginny|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/stanwood-starin.html#063.20.82|accessdate=December 19, 2014|publisher=The Political Graveyard}}</ref> Starcher ran for her first state-level election in 1984, but lost to Bill Carmichael.<ref>{{cite news|title=West Virginia: State House of Delegates, 1980s|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/ofc/sthse1980s.html|accessdate=December 19, 2014|publisher=The Political Graveyard}}</ref> She won the 1986 election, becoming the first woman elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates from her district. Starcher won reelection in 1988, and retired at the conclusion of her second term.<ref name=WVHOD/>
==Death== In October 2012, she and her husband Harold Starcher ate at a Bob Evans restaurant in Ripley, where both allegedly suffered food poisoning. Both spent their final months in hospitals and hospice care. Virginia Starcher died at the Hubbard Hospice House in Charleston, West Virginia on December 19, 2012, and Harold died on May 6, 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cosby|first1=Annie|title=Family claims Bob Evans' meals led to couple's deaths|url=http://wvrecord.com/stories/510587989-family-claims-bob-evans-meals-led-to-couple-s-deaths|accessdate=August 3, 2015|work=West Virginia Record|date=November 6, 2014}}</ref> Their children, Mark and Ann, filed a lawsuit against Bob Evans and asking for $250,000 in damages.<ref name=cnncon>{{cite news|last1=Conlon|first1=Kevin|title=Killer meatloaf? Lawsuit claims couple died after tainted Bob Evans meal|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/18/us/meatloaf-death-lawsuit/index.html?hpt=hp_t2|accessdate=December 19, 2014|publisher=CNN.com|date=December 18, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Suit: Bad meatloaf killed ex-WVa delegate, husband|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/7/suit-bad-meatloaf-killed-ex-wva-delegate-spouse/|accessdate=December 19, 2014|work=Washington Times|last1=Mattise|first1=Jonathan|agency=Associated Press|date=December 18, 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starcher, Virginia}} Category:1930 births Category:2012 deaths Category:Politicians from Wheeling, West Virginia Category:Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Category:West Virginia University alumni Category:West Virginia University faculty Category:Schoolteachers from West Virginia Category:Deaths from foodborne illnesses Category:Accidental deaths in West Virginia Category:County commissioners in West Virginia Category:People from Ripley, West Virginia Category:American women academics Category:21st-century American women Category:Women state legislators in West Virginia Category:20th-century members of the West Virginia Legislature Category:20th-century American women politicians Category:People from Cameron, West Virginia Category:Civil servants from West Virginia
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