The Real Kenneth Starr: A Glimpse into his Formative Years

Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel behind the high-profile investigations into President Clinton's improprieties, is often portrayed as a relentless and brutally inquisitorial figure. However, a closer examination of his upbringing and formative years reveals a very different individual - a squeaky-clean, mild-mannered, and straight-A student who was born in Vernon, Texas, and raised in a small frame house in San Antonio. His classmates and teachers recall him as a deeply caring and sensitive individual, who was deeply affected by the assassination of President Kennedy and wrote a heartfelt column about it for the school paper.

Key Takeaways:

• Kenneth Starr was born on July 21, 1946, in Vernon, Texas, and spent his early years in Thalia, where his father was a minister for a tiny Church of Christ.
• Starr attended Sam Houston High School in San Antonio, where he was a straight-A student, elected class president both his junior and senior years, and was voted the "most likely to succeed" by his graduating class.
• Starr's classmates and teachers recall him as a deeply caring and sensitive individual, who was known for his leadership abilities and was never targeted by class bullies despite his conservative appearance.
• Starr was a photographer for the yearbook and newspaper, and his high school adviser, English teacher Roberta Mahan, remembered him as "straight-laced but with a good sense of humor, non-athletic but straight A's."
• Starr's family was devoutly Christian, and his father was a passionate advocate for conservative values, but Starr's classmates say he was not hardened by his upbringing and was instead a deeply compassionate and empathetic person.

Statistics:

• The Whitewater investigation and the inquiry into President Clinton's relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky have cost an estimated $30 million, a shocking sum to many of Starr's classmates in San Antonio.
• Thirty million dollars could cover scholarships for 20 years, endow 10 faculty professorships, or build a new science building, according to John Villareal, a chemistry professor at the University of Texas-Pan American at Edinburg.
• Starr has been criticized for the length and cost of the investigations, but his classmates say he is doing his job to the best of his ability and is not vindictive.

Sources:

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• Diane Bohannon Craig's stories and quotes from her high school years are part of this article.