Darlene Helen Winters

Darlene Winters was lovingly received into her new eternal home by her savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, on October 2, 2023 after completing a life of adventure and abounding love. She was born in Fresno California to immigrant parents of Volga-German background. She and her two older siblings, Marian and Richard, led a life of learning and adventure in and around the farmlands in the Fresno area. After high school, Darlene’s calling was to become a teacher, and upon her graduation from Fresno State College, she taught at elementary schools in towns in the Fresno and Pasadena area. But her next adventure would take her far afield.

Her next adventure fulfilled her desire to see the broader world, especially Germany and England, where she was a teacher of the children of American troops. It is during this time that she met Robert Winters (senior), a United States Airforce officer stationed in England. They were married in Colorado , and then started a family with the birth of William in Maryland. Later their second son, Robert (junior), was born in Nebraska, this followed by an assignment to Alaska. Along the way, in addition to the devotion to her new family, Darlene served as Red Cross volunteer and Cub Scout den mother.

Much sought relief from summer mosquitos and very long winters was realized upon her husband’s reassignment to Beale Air Force Base in Northern California, which became, in effect, the true home of the Winters family. Darlene taught in elementary schools at Beale and in nearby Wheatland, as well as participating in community musical groups including the Yuba College choir and the Yuba Sutter Oratorio Society choir, in which she most certainly memorized much of Handel’s Messiah after many years of its performance.

As Darlene’s sons reached young adulthood, William a CSU Chico graduate and Robert a West Point Graduate, she suffered the loss of her husband. Darlene, in her remaining 30 years of life, was a strong matriarch, and friend to so many in her and her son’s extended family and network of friends. She was a stalwart in her faith, a faith that sustained her in sickness and health.

She is survived by her sister Marian Riffel and Darlene’s sons, William Winters and Robert Winters, as well as William’s wife and daughter Margaret and Julia, and Robert’s wife Christine.

A celebration of Darlene’s life will be held at 1PM on Saturday October 14th at the Best Western Plus Orchid Hotel and Suites in Roseville at 130 N Sunrise. Darlene’s burial will take place at 11AM on Monday October 16th at Wheatland Cemetery, 4865 Wheatland Road.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Darlene’s name to Agape International Missions, a non-profit organization dedicated to anti-trafficking work, an organization that Darlene supported (aimfree.org).