Robert L Winders

Robert Lee Winders, 82, died peacefully in Muncie, Indiana, on May 18. He was born July 6, 1943, at the Putnam County Hospital in Greencastle to C.H. “Red” and Mabel (Everly) Winders. He lived in Spencer and attended Spencer Community Schools, leaving before high school graduation to join the U.S. Air Force. There his aptitude for science led him to train as a hospital laboratory technician, publish his first scientific paper and do high-altitude research for NASA.

After earning a high school diploma while in the military, Winders went on to receive a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D., all in physiology, from Indiana University and an M.D. from the Indiana University School of Medicine. He did his internship at the LA County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles and his surgical residency at the David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base in northern California.

He was chief of surgery at the Whiteman Air Force Base hospital in Missouri before joining practices first in Warrensburg, Missouri, and then in Greencastle, Indiana. He continued to serve in the Air Force Reserves and retired as a lieutenant colonel. He had completed an anesthesia residency in 1992 and was working at Ball Memorial Hospital when rheumatoid arthritis necessitated surgery on his hands in 1998. He took time away from medicine to travel and run the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery, Vermont, with his wife. He returned to anesthesia in 2009 and retired in 2013.

Winders is survived by his wife, Deborah (Baldwin), whom he married in 1985, and two children from a previous marriage to Glenda Wininger: son Anthony (Carmen) and daughter Lesley Frederikson (David). In addition, his survivors include grandchildren Margaret, Caroline, Ryan and Delaray; brother James (Sue); and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and stepfather, Phillip Maners; sisters Evelyn Bandy and Clara Miller; and nephew Alan Winders.

A celebration of life reception will be held at the home in Muncie on Aug. 1 from 1 to 4 p.m. Guests are invited to bring a dish and memories of Bob to share. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Indiana University general scholarship fund.