Francis Gray “Red” Winters, 89, a native and lifelong resident of Houston, Texas, passed away at home on the 3rd May 2014 after a lengthy illness. The youngest of three sons, he was born to Mr. and Mrs. William Gardner Winters (Sr.) on the 27th of March 1925. Mr. Winters attended Poe Elementary, Lanier Jr. High, and Lamar High School (class of 1941). He immediately enrolled at Rice Institute (later renamed Rice University) from which he graduated in 1944 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Mr. Winters served in the Navy during World War II. He was assigned to the United States Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D. C. where he worked as a mechanical engineer. His primary focus was vibration management of the vacuum-tube-driven electronics on board ship. During his assignment there, the Battleship Texas was taken out of action due to a severe problem of many of its vital vacuum tubes shattering from the shock they would sustain whenever the ship’s big guns were fired. He was given the challenge of solving this problem and did so thus enabling the Battleship Texas to go back into action.
After the War, Mr. Winters went into the Naval Reserves and entered The University of Texas to pursue his Masters in Mechanical Engineering. He graduated in 1949 and started working in the heating and air conditioning industry in Houston. While at UT, he met his wife Nell. They were married in June 1949 and had three daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Winters enjoyed 58 years of marriage before her death in 2007.
Mr. Winters started working with his father in the telephone industry in 1952. Together, they ran 3 East Texas telephone companies (Texas Telephone & Telegraph Company, Bolling-Iago Telephone Company, and Hull Telephone Company) which they later merged into Texas Telephone and Telegraph Company. TT&T was bought out by Continental Telephone Corporation (later ConTel) which in turn was bought out by GTE which in turn was bought out by Verizon. He was very active in the independent telephone company industry, eventually becoming President of the Independent Telephone Pioneers Association in the early 1970’s.
In addition to being a businessman, Mr. Winters was active in the Houston volunteer and philanthropic community. He was President of the Houston Area Council of Camp Fire Girls while his daughters were growing up. He was an ardent supporter of Rice University, serving on its Development Committee and taking his turn as General Chairman of the Rice Annual Fund. He strongly supported Mrs. Winters’ volunteer work with the Blue Bird Circle of Houston.
Mr. Winters was passionate about our civil liberties. He believed strongly in American citizens’ right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment, understanding that this right was not about hunting or home safety but was a balance enabling the citizens to keep their Federal Government in check. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association and was a member and highly respected advisor on The Constitution to numerous Second Amendment organizations such as The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep & Bear Arms. He was co-founder and president of the Greater Houston Sportsmen’s Coalition which evolved into the Greater Texas Sportsman’s Coalition which became one of the first Second Amendment legislative lobbying groups. The membership of the Coalition eventually represented over 100,000 Americans nationwide. Mr. Winters co-chaired the Directorate of the Federation for NRA which reformed the NRA into the legislative organization recognized today. For more than 40 years, he lobbied national and Texas legislators regarding the Second Amendment issues and wrote extensively on the history and true meaning of our United States Constitution.
In addition to his love for his country, Mr. Winters loved the State of Texas. He was a charter member of the Texas Army, a re-enactment and historical group focused on educating others about and preserving the significance of the Texas War for Independence. He enjoyed the Army’s musters, campouts at Washington-on-the-Brazos, and their re-enactments of the Battle of San Jacinto.
An avid model railroader since the age of 13, Mr. Winters built an extensive track system in the “train room” of his home. He also enjoyed hunting deer and elk, fishing, and the family vacation home in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. He was a member of the Houston Rotary Club, Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, the Deep East Texas Bear Hunters Association, Portage Lake Rod and Gun Club, the Houston Racquet Club, the Houston Club and various professional engineering organizations. He was a certified Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun Instructor.
Mr. Winters’ Christian faith was important to him. He was a member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. The pastoral care ministry teams at both MDPC and St. Martin’s Episcopal Church provided pastoral care to him. The Winters Family and Mr. Winters were deeply grateful for this care. Special thanks to Jim Newlin, Bill Kennedy, and Ed Noah.
The Winters Family wishes to express its appreciation and thanks to Mr. Winters’ caregivers Jeannette, Shirley, and Felicia for their devotion and tender care of him. Thanks also to his doctors and nurses for their dedication to giving him the best medical care possible, to the Memorial Villages Police , Fire and Ambulance for their compassion and quick responses when we needed them, to friends, neighbors and all who helped take care of Mr. Winters through his final illness.
Mr. Winters’ survivors include his three daughters (Ann Winters, Susan Winters Hemfelt, and Janice Winters Price), 3 grandchildren, 1 great-grandchild, nieces and nephews and their children, and cousins.
Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o’clock in the afternoon until eight o’clock in the evening on Sunday, the 11th of May, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.
The funeral service is to be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Monday, the 12th of May, at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston, where the Rev. Mary E. Wilson, Senior Associate Rector for Pastoral Care, and the Rev. R-J Heijmen, Senior Associate Rector for Christian Education, Stewardship, and Student Ministries, are to officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Bagby Parish Hall.
A private interment will be held.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorials may be made to The Second Amendment Foundation, James Madison Building, 12500 N. E. Tenth Place, Bellevue, Washington 98005; The Firearms Coalition, Attention: Jeff Knox, Director, P. O. Box 1761, Buckeye, Arizona 85326; NRA/Institute for Legislative Action, Attention: ILA Fiscal Office, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, The Blue Bird Circle (Please write “clinic research” in the memo line of your check), 615 West Alabama, Houston, Texas, 77006.
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