Gerald “Jerry” Le Roy Winchester Sr., 78, passed away at his residence in Kempner, Texas, on Saturday, March 17, 2018. He was born in Elgin, Illinois, to Myron William Winchester and Ruth Caroline (Wendt) Winchester in 1939. The Winchester family moved to Southern California in the 1940s, where Jerry graduated from Rosemead High School in El Monte, California, in 1957. Jerry attended Mount San Antonio Community College in Walnut, California, and briefly served in the United States Air Force in San Antonio, TX. In 1962, Jerry married Patricia “Patty” Mary (Ponsonby) Winchester of Azalea, Oregon. Jerry was a draftsman and design engineer. In the 1960s and 1970s, he designed disc brakes used on race cars at Air Heart Brakes, and then worked for Hughes Aircraft Corporation. In 1972, Jerry moved his family to Oregon, where he owned a Texaco service station, worked at ACE Hardware and later co-owned a custom cabinet shop in Canyonville. In 1982, Jerry returned his family to Southern California and once again worked at Hughes, which was bought by Raytheon, from which he retired in 2001. Jerry and Patty moved from Hemet, California, to Kempner, Texas, in 2010. Jerry was a private pilot and loved spending his time RVing and fishing with his wife of 55 years, Patty. He loved to research, tinker, and build things and enjoyed working on the family ranch in Kempner.
Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Judy (Winchester) Lage, and a daughter, Katherine Marie Winchester. Jerry is survived by his loving wife, Patty, of Kempner; daughter, Dr. Kelly Henton, and husband, Jeff Henton of Kempner; son, Gerald Winchester Jr., of Fairbanks, Alaska; son, Greg Winchester, of Kempner, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Jerry asked that there be no memorial ceremony, and the family is honoring his wishes. The family requests donations in Jerry’s memory, in lieu of flowers, to the Wounded Warrior Project, USO, or other military service organization.
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