Wesley Winters

Wesley E. Winters, 90, of Waukon, IA, died Friday, December 21, 2018, at Northgate Care Center in Waukon. Funeral services will be held Thursday, December 27th, at 11:00 AM at First Presbyterian Church in Waukon with Pastor Grant VanderVelden officiating. Burial will be at Oakland Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may call from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM Wednesday at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon.

Wesley Eldo Winters was born May 24, 1928, in Jefferson Township, rural Allamakee County, IA, the son of Carl Simon and Abigail Blossom (Livingood) Winters. He attended country schools and worked on the family farm. On August 4, 1951, Wes married Evelyn Gayle Decker at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, IA. The couple farmed in Allamakee County and raised dairy cows. According to his children, Wes' favorite part of farming was getting them out of bed at 4:00 AM to help with chores. In 1966, Wes went to work for the county and operated a maintainer, grading roads and plowing snow for almost 25 years.

After Evelyn's death in 2013, Wes was baptized at First Presbyterian Church in Waukon, where he was a current member. As a kid, he liked to go ice skating and later, loved dancing with Evelyn at wherever the Toe Tappers were playing. They also spent a lot of time traveling around the country with their friends Gordon and Marcella Hansmeier, making several trips to Branson, MO, amongst other places. Wes also enjoyed playing cards, scrapbooking, and going to old tractor shows. He was quite the collector and liked odds and ends: matchbooks, calendars, pens from various businesses, and was currently trying to collect magnets from all 50 states. Mostly, Wes loved spending time with family and was always teasing his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He is survived by his four children: Leslie Allen (JoAnn) Winters of Waukon, Raymond Lee (Tammy) Winters of Luana, IA, Kathy Ann (Howard Kneeland) Winters of Anchor Point, AK, and Barbara Sue (Marvin) Hill of Waukon; 10 grandchildren: Travis Winters, Tom (Samantha Korn) Winters, Amanda (Lloyd Stegen) Winters, Stacy (Seth) Yager, Gayle (Dan) Lutz, Cody (April) Hager, Casey Sass, Nicole (Tracy) Blake, Andrew (Stacie Leppert) Hill, and Eve Hill; 12 great-grandchildren plus one on the way; a sister Doris (Bill Walsh) of Kalona, IA; and three sisters-in-law: Marie and Lillian Winters and Sharon Decker, all of Waukon.

Wes was preceded in death by his parents; wife Evelyn; a sister Genevieve (Wesley) Rood; four brothers: Virgil (Rosalia Ehde) Winters, Lynn Winters, Delbert Winters, and Clinton (Lorna) Winters; and two brothers-in-law: Robert Decker and Gary (Bernice) Decker.

Honorary casketbearers are Wes' grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Casketbearers are Jim, Roger, Ron, Bob, and Charles Winters, and Michael Rood.