GARDINER – Starcia Lynn Erving, 39, passed away in her sleep on July 1, 2021.

She was born in North Conway, N.H., on Sept. 1, 1981, the daughter of Anne Merrill and David Doyon.

She grew up in Wayne, and graduated from Maranacook Community School in 2000. She was currently employed at Creative Works as a Direct Support Professional. She was formerly employed at Motivational Services as Mental Health Support Staff.

Starcia always put others first. Her volunteering started at a young age, beginning with singing in the church choir and being a Junior Fire Fighter.

Her biggest passion was helping animals. She volunteered at the Kennebec Valley Humane Society doing anything they needed help with. She helped with fund raising events and fostered hundreds of kittens. Being an experienced foster, she helped mentor new foster families. In addition to fostering, she had many pets of her own, and she treated them as if they were her children, namely her little dog, Angel. She also loved her cats, and recently enjoyed learning about bird husbandry with her parakeets.

She is survived by her loving husband, Anthony Erving; her mother, Anne Merrill and her partner Jon Capozza; her stepfather, Charles Jackson; her sister, Heather Jackson, her brother, Caleb Jackson; her aunt, Diane Vorpagel; her uncle, Tom and aunt, Cheryl Merril; her mother-in-law, Jo Anne Erving; and several cousins. She will also be sadly missed by the many families and children that she cared for over the years.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7 at Staples Funeral Home, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner.

Condolences, memories and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the funeral home website familyfirstfuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Kennebec Valley Humane Society. Please make checks payable to the Kennebec Valley Humane Society,

and mail them to

Anne Merrill,

P.O. Box 117,

North Monmouth, ME 04265