John R Winn

John was born in Canton, MO and spent his formative years in Hannibal, MO. Including a stint as a cave guide at the Mark Twain Cave. John was one-of-a-kind. He had so many talents, from singing opera and folk music, to singing in a country band, songwriting, writing poetry, musical tributes to old friends, and writing an autobiography, This Singin’ Thing on Amazon.com. He sang opera for the Saint Louis Opera Guild. He served in the US Army in 1957-58 where he learned to play the guitar. He eventually moved to New York City to pursue a career as a folk singer in the late 1950s at the urging of his friend and fellow folk singer Judy Collins.

John sang at coffeehouses in Greenwich Village and was there when a young new talent, Bob Dylan, appeared on the scene. He and the young Dylan eventually played many of the same venues and even did a memorable road trip together.

John performed regularly at the Gaslight, Gerde’s Folk City, and Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY in the early 1960s. He also appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York City, singing old English folk music. His career took him across the country with the Karlsrud Chorale and the Belafonte Singers in 1964 and 1965.

The traveling and touring took a toll, and after playing summer stock theater in Maine, he was lured by skiing and the mountains and spent 17 years as a ski instructor and Ski School Director at resorts in the east, including Sugarloaf Resort in Maine.

John and Kristin met through the ski industry and married in 1985, living in Durango, Winter Park, Summit County, and finally Grand Junction, Colorado starting in 1995. He began writing and performing music again and teamed up with Jon James at The Shedd Studio to produce nine music CDs and over 100 music videos, most of which were John’s original compositions.

John was an incredibly talented man with deep passions for singing, performing, writing music, skiing, ski racing, telemark skiing, hiking, biking, tennis, and the outdoors. He took his last drink on September 17, 1978, and valued his sobriety.

He was preceded in death by his parents Lennabelle and Ira Winn, his oldest son, Erik, and his siblings William and Lennabelle Winn. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Kristin Winn, their son Scott Winn (Erin Young) and grandson Oliver; children Caitlin Winn, Brady-Anne Winn, Darcy Winn and her sons Aiden Wilber and John Shankland; Daryl (Winn) Napier, and grandsons Ronan and Nolan Napier; and grandson Django Palty.

John’s family held a Celebration of the Circle of Life event one year ago after he first entered home hospice, giving him a chance to say goodbye in person. The video is available on his John Winn, the Old Troubadour channel on YouTube, and listening to his tenor voice brings joy to those he left behind. He spoke through his music, delivering messages of peace, love, and hope for the end to war.

You can listen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asD47qFkabc

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial contribution to Hope West Hospice of Grand Junction, CO.