Gertrude M. Winn

BREWSTER - Gertrude Marie (O'Brien) Winn, age 89 of Brewster passed peacefully Friday evening October, 28, 2011, at the EPOCH Senior Care Center in Brewster, under the loving gaze and vigil of her devoted husband of 62 years, Bill.

A long time resident of Belmont, Massachusetts, Gerta summered and would eventually live in a cottage built by her father on Robbins Hill Road in Brewster. MA. She was born, raised and educated in Brighton, MA, the second of four children and the eldest daughter of Daniel J. and Gertrude M. (Foynes) O'Brien. She is predeceased by her siblings Daniel (Grace) O'Brien, Jr., Marjorie (Herbert) Montgomery and Mary (John) Sherry. She graduated from Mount St. Joseph Academy in 1939 and Regis College in 1943, with a degree in economics. As a young woman she worked for Blue Cross in Boston, part of a corps of young female professionals who held executive positions at a time when their male peers were serving in World War II. She would go on to work in an administrative capacity at MIT before marrying her sweetheart, William A. Winn, Jr., of Brookline, MA, in 1949. Together they would begin what Gerta often described as the most fulfilling of life-long vocations—raising and loving 6 children, their spouses and their 9 grandchildren in open, lively and, as she often said, ‘lived-in’ homes in Belmont and Brewster, MA. In retirement, she and Bill spent winters in their home in Delray Beach, Florida.

Warm, gracious and fun loving, Gerta loved music, playing the piano and singing. She enjoyed opera, jazz singers and broadway musicals. Having come from a home where there was always music, Gerta made a home with the same gift. She was a devoted wife and a nurturing, loving mother; indeed her family was her greatest joy—a joy that extended to her many nieces and nephews and life-long friends.

In addition to her beloved husband, Gerta leaves her six cherished children: William A. Winn, III (Elaine Delaney-Winn), of Winchester and Brewster, MA; Robert J Winn, Vero Beach, FL; Peter D. Winn (Katie), of Scottsdale, AZ; Charles E Winn, of Fairfield, CT; Mary T. (Craig) Huzway, of Silver Spring, MD and Brewster, MA; George T. Winn (Dorothea Kiplock), of Scarsdale, NY; and nine adored grandchildren – Benjamin Delaney-Winn, Adam Delaney-Winn, Tucker Delaney-Winn, Jonathan Garrett Winn, Samuel Marcus Winn, Haley Mae Winn, Catherine Adele Winn, William Arthur Winn, IV, Elizabeth Aurea Winn; and great granddaughter Keira Grace Delaney Winn, with whom she generously shares her birthday.

Her family is deeply grateful to staff of EPOCH Brewster and Life Choice Hospice and the many people in the community for their generous and loving care to Gerta and their support to Bill and the family.

Visitation will be held at the Nickerson Funeral Home, 77 Eldredge Park Way, Orleans, MA 02653 (Exit 12, Rt.6/Mid Cape Hwy.), on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. with her Funeral Mass to follow at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Rd., Brewster, MA 02631. Burial will be in Brewster Cemetery, Lower Rd., Brewster, MA .

Memorial donations may be made to Alzheimer's Assn. of Cape Cod & Southeastern Mass., 8 Merchant’s Rd., Sandwich, MA 02563 or a charity of one's choice.