William F. (Bill) Winter, of Douglas, AZ, passed away on Oct 13, 2012 after a short illness.

He was born in Watertown, WI in 1926 and, after graduation from the WELS Seminary

and one year in Lemon, SD, he and his bride traveled to Nigeria for a 10 year WELS Mission. In 1965 the family moved to Douglas, where he accepted a call to minister at St. Paul's Ev. Lutheran Church and, eventually, also Grace Ev. Lutheran Church in Warren.

In approximately, 1970 he retired from the ministry and, at age 80, fully retired, closing Cochise Group Insurance, a partnership with Jesus “Chuy” Escarcega. He was our father/grandfather/great-grandfather, an accomplished pianist, writer, humorist and, like our mother, our mentor and friend.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lee, a daughter, Kandra, and a son, Bruce. He is survived by two daughters; Pamela (Brad) Stair, of Park Hall, MD, and Jaclyn (Jack) Geesey, of Phoenix; four grandchildren; Ellicia (Bill) McCraney, of Sierra Vista, Danielle (Jason) Maddalozzo, of Chandler, Seth (Danielle) Barcelo, of Douglas, and Stephanie (Jim) Vaughn, of Clovis, NM and five great-grandchildren; Trey and Amber McCraney, Kindra Vaughn and Chase and Ava Maddalozzo and 1 sister, Dorothy (Paul) Dunagan, of Williams, AZ.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 30, at Trinity Orthodox Lutheran Church, 4422 Snyder Blvd., Sierra Vista, with interment of his ashes at the Calvary Memorial Park Cemetery, in Douglas, following the service.

In lieu of flowers, it was Mr. and Mrs. Winter's wishes that donations be made to the Douglas Assoc. for Retarded Citizens (DARC) or House of Hope in Douglas or to a charity of the person's choosing.

Any correspondence should be sent to the Winter home in Douglas, AZ.