Fletcher "Chip" Merritt Winstead Jr.

Born April 30, 1952, in Greensboro, NC, Chip was the son of Dot and Fletcher Winstead, Sr., the adoring husband of Barbara Belt Winstead, and a steadfast friend to many. 
He was thoughtful and outgoing, with a rare gift for nurturing trusting, long-term relationships in his personal and professional lives.

“Chip was a great companion and an even better friend,” remembers Stuart Phoenix of Raleigh, who met Chip in 1984 and became his golfing partner and fellow Kiwanis member. “He was always curious and deeply interested in what made people tick and how things worked. He was like a brother to me, and will be deeply missed.”

Professionally, as Senior Account Manager for Curtis Media Group, Chip brought integrity, intellect, and loyalty to colleagues and clients alike, earning warm accolades from business owners he’d served for decades through good times and bad.

He was a voracious and widely eclectic reader with a passion for American history, biography, and the novels of James Patterson, Michael Crichton, and Patricia Cornwell. A natural athlete, Chip was an avid golfer and a student of the game, whose lifelong quest for golf’s holy grail—the perfect putter—has now been fulfilled. He was also a well-informed fan of film history and traditional American music—bluegrass, folk, and jazz—who always enjoyed sharing some forgotten treasure or his latest find.

Chip brought humor and enthusiasm to everything he did, from navigating disruptive changes in broadcasting and the ad business to supporting his community through the Kiwanis Club of Raleigh; from cultivating lifelong friendships on the golf course and softball diamond to editing a must-read quarterly for the green thumbs of North Carolina, Weekend Gardener magazine.

Chip also appeared on Weekend Gardener’s popular Saturday-morning radio show to extol the virtues of Zoysia, his favorite variety of lawn grass, giving listeners the benefit of his expertise and leaving little doubt about where he stood on the subject. He and Barbara planted Zoysia around their North Hills home—a carpet of grass so uniformly lush and beautiful that Chip couldn’t bring himself to mow it. Thankfully, Barbara, the pragmatic one, was willing to administer the occasional coup de grass.

Chip had an ear for accents, and his presence on the airwaves included a stint as a New Zealand sheep herder in “Wooly Bully” radio commercials for Carpet Village, his client at Monroe Emery Advertising in the 1980s. He also modeled for their newspaper ads, sporting a Kiwi fedora and mustache and flanked by a herd of black-faced sheep.

He was also a passionate supporter of sports teams—the Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Braves, and Joe Gibbs-era Washington Redskins—with a special place in his heart for the Wolfpack of his alma mater, North Carolina State, an unshakeable bond vindicated by their miraculous NCAA men’s basketball championships in 1974 and 1983. According to a relative, this Wolfpack fervor made Chip, surrounded by Carolina blue, “the Red Sheep of the family.”

He is survived by his wife, Barbara; 15 first cousins in North Carolina and beyond; and brothers-in-law Rick and Don Belt, Jr.

Those fortunate to have known him will remember Chip as an outgoing, energetic, and deeply devoted husband, son, cousin, nephew, godparent, golf partner, and friend.

A celebration of Chip’s life will be held at White Memorial Presbyterian Church, 
1704 Oberlin Rd, Raleigh, NC 27608, on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at 2:00 pm, with a reception to follow.

All who knew him are invited to share a story, a laugh, or an appreciation of what Chip meant to you. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Chip’s favorite charity, the SPCA of Wake County (200 Petfinder Ln, Raleigh, NC 27603), or rescuing a pet in need of a home.

Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's Street, Raleigh is serving the Winstead family.