Don Bowie Winchester
June 14, 1932 — January 7, 2013
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Don Bowie Winchester
Don Bowie Winchester born on Flag Day, June 14, 1932, passed on to be with his lord and savior, Jesus Christ, January 7, 2013. Don was a gentle spirit who shared his intelligence and quiet strength through good deeds and hard work.
He grew up on a farm in Pickens, South Carolina with his brother, Dan and his Parents James W. Winchester and Iva Bowie Winchester. Not only did he pitch in with all of the chores a farm entails, but he also helped to build the family homestead while attending and graduating Pickens High School in 1950.
Don went on to graduate from Clemson University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1955. While at his beloved alma mater he participated in the ROTC program and went on to serve his country in the United States Army. He was Soldier of the Month many times while stationed in Germany, and quickly rose to be one of the top soldiers in the 10th Mountain Regiment.
When he returned home, he met his wife, Nell Sutherland Winchester at the local drive-in, fell in love, and married June 11, 1960. They settled in his hometown where he was employed by the Singer Company in the Craftsman Tools Division where he began an extremely successful engineering career in power tools.
Don was also active in the local Jaycees.
Shortly after, Don and Nell had two children Donna, named after her father, and John William named after his paternal and maternal grandfathers. Don continued to work hard and began his two favorite hobbies, gardening and home improvement. There was never a job too large or too difficult for him to master. He was successful at anything he set his mind to accomplishing only accepting as close to perfect as humanly possible.
In 1972, Don fulfilled one of his lifetime dreams, to work for the Black and Decker Corporation in Towson, Maryland. While at Black and Decker he earned nine patents for power tool design, and became one of the best and most admired power tool engineers in the country. What made him so successful was his way with people. He went all over the country visiting job sites asking people what they needed to do their jobs effectively. Don would take this information back and create tools that helped make individuals’ work easier. He worked as a liaison with General Motors doing this very thing. Don was chosen to transcribe all Italian Black and Decker power tools to United States requirements, a honor he was so very proud to do for the company he loved.
After a 49 year career in engineering, he retired from the Fayetteville, NC Black and Decker Plant . He returned after a short “retirement†of six weeks as a consultant. He never ever wanted to stop working. He continued until the plant closed and moved their operation. A truly sad day for him.
Don continued to be active with Christ Church serving as their treasure, working on the annual barbeque dinner, and chairing the annual golf tournament to raise money for the Chin Temporary Housing Program. Later , he continued his walk with Christ at Hay Street United Methodist Church where he was fortunate to visit Israel and make his testimony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Don Bowie Winchester will always be lovingly remembered as an incredibly intelligent, gifted, hardworking , and humble man by his wife of 52 years Nell Winchester; son John; daughter Donna Miller and son in law Timothy Miller; grandchildren, Malone Miller and Tyler Newton; brother and sister in law Dan and Jeanette Winchester; sister in law, Etrulia Galloway; nieces Debbie Duncan, Dana McCollum, and Tina Winchester; nephew, Mark Winchester, as well as many great nephews and nieces.
Visitation will be at Sullivan’s Highland Funeral Service and Crematory in Fayetteville, Thursday January10, 2013, from 5 PM to 7 PM
Funeral services will be held at Hay Street United Methodist Church, Friday, January 11, 2013, at 1:00 PM.
A graveside service will be held at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Pickens, South Carolina. on Sunday January 13, 2013 at 2:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hay Street United Methodist Church 320 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28301.
Services entrusted to Sullivan’s Highland Funeral Service and Crematory of Fayetteville, NC.
He grew up on a farm in Pickens, South Carolina with his brother, Dan and his Parents James W. Winchester and Iva Bowie Winchester. Not only did he pitch in with all of the chores a farm entails, but he also helped to build the family homestead while attending and graduating Pickens High School in 1950.
Don went on to graduate from Clemson University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1955. While at his beloved alma mater he participated in the ROTC program and went on to serve his country in the United States Army. He was Soldier of the Month many times while stationed in Germany, and quickly rose to be one of the top soldiers in the 10th Mountain Regiment.
When he returned home, he met his wife, Nell Sutherland Winchester at the local drive-in, fell in love, and married June 11, 1960. They settled in his hometown where he was employed by the Singer Company in the Craftsman Tools Division where he began an extremely successful engineering career in power tools.
Don was also active in the local Jaycees.
Shortly after, Don and Nell had two children Donna, named after her father, and John William named after his paternal and maternal grandfathers. Don continued to work hard and began his two favorite hobbies, gardening and home improvement. There was never a job too large or too difficult for him to master. He was successful at anything he set his mind to accomplishing only accepting as close to perfect as humanly possible.
In 1972, Don fulfilled one of his lifetime dreams, to work for the Black and Decker Corporation in Towson, Maryland. While at Black and Decker he earned nine patents for power tool design, and became one of the best and most admired power tool engineers in the country. What made him so successful was his way with people. He went all over the country visiting job sites asking people what they needed to do their jobs effectively. Don would take this information back and create tools that helped make individuals’ work easier. He worked as a liaison with General Motors doing this very thing. Don was chosen to transcribe all Italian Black and Decker power tools to United States requirements, a honor he was so very proud to do for the company he loved.
After a 49 year career in engineering, he retired from the Fayetteville, NC Black and Decker Plant . He returned after a short “retirement†of six weeks as a consultant. He never ever wanted to stop working. He continued until the plant closed and moved their operation. A truly sad day for him.
Don continued to be active with Christ Church serving as their treasure, working on the annual barbeque dinner, and chairing the annual golf tournament to raise money for the Chin Temporary Housing Program. Later , he continued his walk with Christ at Hay Street United Methodist Church where he was fortunate to visit Israel and make his testimony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Don Bowie Winchester will always be lovingly remembered as an incredibly intelligent, gifted, hardworking , and humble man by his wife of 52 years Nell Winchester; son John; daughter Donna Miller and son in law Timothy Miller; grandchildren, Malone Miller and Tyler Newton; brother and sister in law Dan and Jeanette Winchester; sister in law, Etrulia Galloway; nieces Debbie Duncan, Dana McCollum, and Tina Winchester; nephew, Mark Winchester, as well as many great nephews and nieces.
Visitation will be at Sullivan’s Highland Funeral Service and Crematory in Fayetteville, Thursday January10, 2013, from 5 PM to 7 PM
Funeral services will be held at Hay Street United Methodist Church, Friday, January 11, 2013, at 1:00 PM.
A graveside service will be held at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Pickens, South Carolina. on Sunday January 13, 2013 at 2:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hay Street United Methodist Church 320 Hay Street Fayetteville, NC 28301.
Services entrusted to Sullivan’s Highland Funeral Service and Crematory of Fayetteville, NC.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Don Bowie Winchester, please visit our flower store.
Past Services
Visitation
Thursday, January 10, 2013
5:00 - 7:00 pm (Eastern time)
Trinity Baptist Church
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