Winter, David -- 1957 - 1999

PETERSEN, WINTER, THOMSEN

Posted By: IAGenWeb Volunteer
Date: 7/15/2010 at 09:35:53

Decorah Public Opinion, Tuesday, Tues. Dec. 7, 1999

David Michael Winter, 42, of Sheffield, died Monday Nov. 29, 1999, at Good Shepherd Health Center in Mason City.

Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, at Zion/St. John Lutheran Church, Sheffield, with the Rev. Kent Mechler officiating.

Inurnment was at West Fork Cemetery, Dougherty.

David Michael Winter was born March 12, 1957, in Scotia, Calif., to the Rev. Ole and Naomi (Petersen) Winter.

He was baptized at Fortuna Lutheran Church in Fortuna, Calif., and confirmed in the Christian faith at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Forest City, where he also graduated from high school.

David spent one summer of his high school years in Argentina as an AFS exchange student.

In 1975, he entered Luther College where he was a member of the Nordic Choir under the direction of Weston Noble.

He majored in Spanish and German, spending his junior year in Germany and Spain. While in Germany, he enjoyed spending time with European relatives in Germany and Denmark.

Following his graduation from Luther, he volunteered for service with the Peace Corps and was assigned to agricultural work in the Dominican Republic and served an additional year as a trainer for the Peace Corps.

Later, he earned his master of science degree in education from the University of California in Davis with special emphasis in Third World community development.

David was employed by the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C., and in 1987 was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to continue research he began in Ecuador during his master's studies. In 1989, he received the Brianne Lee award from the Spanish Department at Luther College.

David was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1983. Symptoms of this disease caused him to withdraw from the Fulbright work in late 1987. He returned to Forest City and for a while lived with his parents.

During the summer of 1988, David was re-introduced to high school friend, Martha Bruland, then of Eugene, Ore. They became engaged and were married at Central Lutheran Church in Eugene on Nov. 26, 1988.

They lived in Eugene until February of 1996, when they returned to Iowa to be closer to family and for Martha to work with her sister, Kathy Alden, at Creative Solutions Unlimited Inc, in Sheffield.

David entered Good Shepherd Health Care Center in Mason City and lived there until his death.

Survivors include his wife, Martha of Sheffield; parents, Ole and Naomi Winter of Decorah; two brothers, Mark and his wife Annette, and Larry and his wife Jane, all of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; a sister, Kathy and her husband Jim Thomsen of Geneva, IL; and four nieces and nephews.

David endured a long struggle with MS in a way that inspired many of those around him, maintaining his sense of humor, strength of character, and gratitude to those who supported. him so faithfully through the years.

The family requests memorials be directed to the choral music department of Luther College, or the Channel Islands Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis society in which David's brothers have been deeply involved.

Transcribed by an IA GenWeb Volunteer from obituaries found in the Howard-Winneshiek Genealogy Society Library, Cresco, Iowa.