Her father Maurie Stark, a Fort Dodge tax attorney who, with his wife Mary made immeasurable contributions to the city during their lives of service to their fellow man, had gifted her decades ago a list of three principles he lived by that she adopted as her own North Star.

His advice:

“Be not afraid of hard work; donate time to your community, it is your civic rent, and uphold the highest personal and professional standards.” And this fourth unwritten principle: “Although at times, work may require personal sacrifice, love of family and the profession should enable you to accept such willingly and graciously.”

Kaufman shared in the Missouri Lawyers Review this advice her father offered upon her graduation from law school in 1983, originally published as a column in the Iowa Bar Association’s magazine. The column hangs on a wall in her office at Dentons, a Kansas City law firm where she is a health care and corporate attorney, and also in the office of her brother Steve Stark, an attorney with Fleeson Gooing Coulson & Kitch in Wichita, Kansas.

Submitted photo
Richard and Joan Stark

Michelle and Steve are among the six children of Maurie and Mary Stark. Their siblings are Diane Stark, a retired kindergarten teacher and speech therapist in Merriam, Kansas.; Tom Stark, an orthodontist in Ames; Julie Manas, a health care executive in Nashville, Tennessee, and David Stark, an executive with UnityPoint Health in Des Moines.

Maurie and Mary met on a blind date at the University of Iowa while he was on Army leave during the Korean War and were married in Sheldon, her hometown, on Dec. 27, 1952. Maurie was a decorated Army veteran of World War II and Korea and was a graduate of Iowa’s School of Law.

Maurie had two brothers – Dick Stark, who farmed near Webster City and was involved in commodities trading, and the Rev. John Stark, a Catholic priest who served in various parishes in the Dubuque diocese.

Dick and Margaret Stark had four children: a son Richard – who has played a major role in contributions to the Fort Dodge community, in concert with his uncle Maurie and, to this day, with his wife Joan – and daughters Nancy, Catherine and Elizabeth.

Maurie died in 2000 and Mary in 2011, but that “civic rent” they paid years ago is an essential part of the community today, personified by:

Submitted photo
Mary and Maurie's six children, taken in 2024: Seated, from left: Steve and David. Standing, from left: Tom, Michelle, Diane and Julie.

l UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center, outgrowth of a 1973 merger of Mercy Hospital and Bethesda General Hospital after a four-year effort marked by emotion-filled meetings and numerous votes that Maurie, as a member of a citizens committee, helped navigate. Years after the merger, his son Steve said he heard from various Fort Dodgers that the key to its success “was Pa’s willingness to keep a low profile, let others involved claim the glory or credit.  Don’t toot your own horn, but be satisfied with knowing you did your best, was the message he conveyed to me.”

l The St. Edmond Catholic Schools, which were facing financial difficulties back in 1989. That’s when Maurie, his nephew Richard and others helped form the St. Edmond Catholic School Foundation that was successful in restoring its financial footing. Current Development Director Susan Laufersweiler said, “The Maurie and Mary Stark Fund was established with a clear and compassionate purpose: to enhance teacher salaries. It was their heartfelt dream to ensure our educators receive competitive wages. Today, that dream is being realized, and we believe Maurie and Mary would be proud to see the impact of their generosity.

“Richard Stark served as the first chair of the Development Board, guiding St. Edmond with remarkable knowledge and leadership. For years, he faithfully oversaw our system’s investments, laying the groundwork for continued success. Alongside his wife, Joan, Richard’s enduring support and wise counsel remain invaluable to our mission.”

Mary Stark spent many years on the St. Edmond marketing and development committees (including as a founding member and the first co-chair). Her son David said, “She was especially well-known for her perseverance in selling St. Edmond Annual Ball raffle tickets, and many raffle ticket winners have her to thank for winning generous prizes and cars they won at the annual St. Edmond Ball.”

At this year’s ball, Laufersweiler said, “We started a Mary Stark traveling trophy to go to our top car raffle salesperson as a fun little incentive to push car raffle sales in the future. I believe Mary used to sell over 300 tickets a year. Truly amazing to me.”

Monsignor Kevin McCoy, president/pastor of St. Edmond Catholic School and Holy Trinity Parish, said that Mary sold him his very first St. Edmond Ball Car Raffle ticket.

In McCoy’s eulogy at her 2011 funeral, he said, “Among all of the virtues Mary possessed, they all were bound together by her love, her charity that she exhibited without end in her friendships, in her love for the parish and its school, St. Edmond, and last but not least for ‘her’ home – Fort Dodge, Iowa.

“Her charitable spirit moved many to action for our parish and our school; her charitable spirit makes ‘our’ home, Fort Dodge today, a better place.

“The Starks gave generously of their time, talent and treasure to magnify the footprint of Catholic education here in Webster County.”

l Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex, a treasure for Fort Dodge and since 1970 the host site for the annual Iowa Girls High School State Softball Tournament. Maurie worked closely with the Rogers to set up the gift of the land where the park is located, north of the city. Later, at the time of her death in 2011, Mary and her family made a generous donation to the complex that helped finance installation of artificial turf and other enhancements at the baseball field – which is named the Mary and Maurie Stark Family Stadium. Said Dave Flattery, a Fort Dodge banker and city councilman: “The stadium now attracts high school baseball teams from all over the state of Iowa and college baseball programs from all over the upper Midwest starting in early February of each year.  Baseball played in February in Fort Dodge!”

David Stark said, “Dad was the Rogers’ tax and estate attorney and helped develop this legacy idea given their affinity for athletics, particularly baseball and softball. Doing this kind of estate planning while they were still alive to see the benefit of their gift was a powerful motivator to making it happen. The couple would regularly come to the park to watch games.”

l The Mary and Maurie Stark Fund, an unrestricted endowed fund at the Fort Dodge Community Foundation. Said Foundation CEO Randy Kuhlman: “Maurie and Mary left a generous gift from their estate to the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way to support the community they loved and to help the underprivileged.”

Tom Stark recalled that “we kids were admonished many, many, many times that ‘to whom much has been given, much will be expected.’  When I was the executor of my Uncle Bud and Mom’s combined estates, we often decided tough questions by thinking WWMD … What Would Maurie Do?  Never failed us to arrive at the correct answer.”

In the eulogy he presented at his father’s funeral, Tom said, “My mom Mary was truly a saint.  Dad was very community minded, which meant many evenings away from home, which left Mom to manage to wrangle six active children.  She was Dad’s biggest supporter, confidant, cheerleader, soulmate…and in his later years, nurse and counselor.  They were the best parents ever.”

The six Stark children inherited their parents’ passion for “giving back” in their own lives: Michelle, serving as chair of the board of Heart of America Family Services (now called The Family Conservancy), one of the largest social service nonprofits in the Kansas City metro area; Diane, who has been involved with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Kansas City and after retiring from teaching went back as an unpaid volunteer to help in the classrooms at the same Kansas City, Kansas, elementary school where she had been a teacher; Steve, serving his home parish and diocese in Wichita, mostly on the financial management, fundraising and budgeting areas; Tom, serving as a Rotarian in Ames for 25-plus years, just like his dad, and involvement with the United Way; Julie, serving on the Board of Trustees for the Catholic Health Association for eight years, including as board chair; and David, serving on the inaugural John Stoddard Cancer Center board and also serving as past chair for the Greater Des Moines Partnership, which is the second largest economic development group in the country. Those are just the highlights.

The Stark family tradition of “giving back” has been carried on by their cousin Richard, who founded Iowa Commodities, Ltd., of Fort Dodge in 1979. He has also acted as chairman of First American Bank, a multi-bank holding company, since 1986. He and his wife, Joan, live in Woolstock, on his grandmother’s farm — where his father, Maurie and John grew up.

Richard Stark served as chair of the Capital Campaign Committee at St. Edmond, leading the effort for the school’s $8 million addition. And as chairman of the Rotary Club, Richard oversaw the annual honor banquet for both St. Edmond and Senior High for more than 20 years. In 2023, a donation by Richard and Joan resulted in formation of the Joan and Richard Stark Infusion Center at Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City.

Richard and Joan have made major contributions to his alma mater, Iowa State University, where they have served in key volunteer positions within the university and the ISU Foundation. At the Gerdin Business Center, they funded the Richard and Joan Stark Lecture Hall and at the athletics department, they were a lead donor for the $90 million Stark Performance Center for student-athletes in all sports.

Richard said he owes much to his father and his uncles John and Maurie (all three of whom, he noted, died within a year of each other).

“I came to Fort Dodge to be in the brokerage business with my dad, then on my own,” he said. “When I came to Fort Dodge, I had instant credibility all because of Maurie. I didn’t do anything to deserve it; I got it because I was Maurie’s nephew.”

Asked in a recent ISU Foundation story what advice he would give to students and young alumni of the Ivy College of Business, he said:

“Whatever the endeavor, work hard at it. Don’t settle for just getting by.

“Find your passion and follow it.

“Be the best version of yourself you can be.”

Advice that his Uncle Maurie and Aunt Mary would certainly approve.