Wilbert Otto 'Bill' Winter, 91

Wilbert Otto “Bill” Winter passed away quietly on Jan. 18, 2011, at the age of 91, in Longview, Wash., with family at his side.

 Bill was born Dec. 28, 1919, on a small farm south of Parkston, S.D., to Bertha Uttecht Winter and Nathanial Winter. He was one of seven children raised in the township of Kulm, named after the Russian village from which his and many of the neighboring families emigrated.

 From an early age he would spend spare time (rarely found on a farm during the Depression years) working on anything mechanical. In 1938, he and his older brother Arnold rebuilt an old motorcycle and the two men, at 6-foot, 4-inches and 6-foot 6-inches, rode the cycle from South Dakota to Los Angeles, to find work and learn to fly.  He soon had the training to be hired by Douglas Aircraft and in less than two years earned his pilot’s license and owned his own plane.

During the war years he was a wing foreman for Douglas aircraft and was recognized by the company for innovations to the building of the C47. He was the foreman in charge of the wings on the first Air Force One designed and built, but never used, for Pres. Franklin Roosevelt.

While working at Douglas he met Jean Elaine Foster and they were married on Feb. 21, 1943, in Santa Monica, Calif., and their three daughters, Marvilla, Christle and Deneanne were born there. Bill moved his family in 1949 to Whitefish where Jean’s family was located and he went to work for Harlow Chevrolet. A certified GM mechanic, Bill was sought after for his expertise on cars. He went to work for the Great Northern Railroad in 1953.

Along with Art and Evelyn LaBrie, Ted and Connie Lund and Lil and Dale Howke, he and Jean helped to found the Whitefish Winter Carnival Penguins. It was Bill who came up with the design for the moveable “bills” that allowed the Penguins to talk.

Following a divorce, Bill met Mollie Morken and they were married in 1965. He retired from the railroad in 1979 and he and Mollie eventually moved from Whitefish to Village Greens in Evergreen. Bill and Mollie enjoyed a marriage of 40 years until her death in 2006. Bill became a stepfather to Mollie’s children, Earvin Morken, Gary Morken and Marilyn Morken, and Mollie’s family became a big part of his life.

Bill could be quite opinionated on many topics and he enjoyed relating stories of his youth to family and friends. He was a perfectionist and a very inventive and clever man. Up until the time Bill moved from his home in 2010, he would most likely be found in his garage inventing, tinkering and redesigning almost everything. He was very gifted in math and mechanics and, with only an eighth grade education, could help solve his daughters’ math problems — even calculus. His understanding of automobiles led him to be in demand for rebuilding engines for friends.

 His carpenter talents were visible in the woodwork in the home that he built in Whitefish. He loved Christmas and went out of his way to think up clever and thoughtful gifts. He always made sure that the family had the perfect tree which he selected during the summer and cut during a family outing before Christmas. He enjoyed the younger grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and the many years after his retirement when he and Mollie could travel in their fifth wheel were some of the favorite times of his life.

Bill leaves behind a rich legacy and is survived by his sister, Hilda Winter of Van Nuys, Calif.; daughters, Marvilla and Charles Davis of Fairbanks, Alaska, Christle and Glenn England of Longview, Wash., and Deneanne Winter of Portland; stepchildren, Earvin Morken and Beverly of Kalispell, Gary Morken and Karen of Sidney, and Marilyn Morken of Great Falls; 10 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Bertha and Nathanial Winter; brothers, Arnold Winter, Raymond Winter and infant brother; sisters, Adele Schultz and Olivia Isabel; wife, Mollie Winter; son-in-law, Mike Conn; and grandchildren, Wendy Mae Conn, Maxwell Wischafski and Kevin Morken.

Bill was interred next to his wife Mollie at Glacier Memorial Gardens in Kalispell.

A gathering for friends and family of Bill will take place beginning at 1 p.m., Saturday, May 21, at the Village Greens Community Center in Evergreen.

The family requests that any donations be made to Hospice of Kalispell; or Cowlitz County Home Health and Hospice, Wash.