Rose Christeen Winkler

Rose Christeen “Teeny” Winkler was born on February 8, 1932 to Barbara and Matthew Devlin. Rose was raised in east Denver where she attended East High School, graduating in 1950. It was during the summer between her junior and senior year in high school that she met a handsome, charming fellow from Englewood. While she couldn’t imagine it at the time (he was a Methodist!), this man, George Winkler, would be her husband for 63 years. After high school, Rose went to work as a teller at the Colorado National Bank where she was one of the first female tellers in the industry.

Rose and George continued to see each other until George enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and shipped out to California. As is often said, absence makes the heart grow fonder and during one of his leaves, George came home and proposed. As Winkler men are impossible to resist, she had no choice but to accept his offer. They were married in October, 1952 and began their long and happy journey together. It was not long before they started their family. Rose’s first child, Julie, was born in 1954. This was followed by Paul in 1956, Theresa in 1958 and Nancy in 1961. For some years, Rose used this even spacing as evidence that the rhythm method did indeed function as advertised (there was, in later years, considerable skepticism from her children). Rose settled in to raise her young family and things were moving along smoothly. Then one day in 1968 Rose careened into the driveway, slammed the door and announced to the neighborhood that she was pregnant (and laid sole blame at George’s feet). So it was that Rose’s fifth and final child, Jeffry, was born in 1969.

Rose continued to raise the family and was fully occupied in this endeavor until Jeff entered the first grade and she needed something more than five children and a dog to keep her busy. She went back to work as a bank teller in Englewood and continued to work at the bank for 18 years. During her time at the bank she was named the Banker of the Month and the Banker of the Year. She was always committed to helping others and was quite popular with the “Bluehairs” as she called her favorite elderly customers. Rose developed many close personal relationships with the folks that she worked with and this group has continued to meet monthly to this very day!

Rose also had strongly held opinions on a wide variety of topics and she was quite willing to have an enthusiastic discussion with anyone who she could corner. This attribute led her to have a compelling interest in politics. While working, raising a family and waiting endlessly on her husband, Rose found time to become a precinct chairwoman for the Democratic Party. Rose worked tirelessly in this endeavor and was rewarded when her precinct voted democratic for the first time in 35 years! This earned her high praise and offers of advancement in political circles. As was so true for Rose through the years though, her focus was on raising her children and taking care of the family (it has been rumored for decades that George does not actually know what a check is or what a supermarket looks like on the inside).

When it was finally time to retire, Rose settled into a comfortable life of going to various school and sporting events, which, considering eleven grandchildren, took some effort. She loved watching her grandchildren grow up and enjoyed being the matriarch of a large, raucous and loving family. Holidays were always some of her favorite times of the year where she could thoroughly enjoy the mayhem of the horde that she created. The family’s notorious Thanksgivings are worthy of any Norman Rockwell painting and was something that she loved deeply.

In the end, our mother was true to her core being. She faced her medical condition and known outcome with fierce courage, strength, humor and love, no hiding, no sorrow, only happiness as she was surrounded by her family. This is who Rose Christeen Winkler truly was. We shall all miss her deeply but she will live on vibrantly and forever in her family.