Frederick C. 'Bob' Winters

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Frederick C. Bob

Winters passed away on Saturday, February 28, at the age of 94. He

was born on October 2, 1914, and he lived in Port Huron his entire

life. He married Janey Hunter Nutt on January 1, 1938. She preceded

him in death on November 21, 1993. They had been married 55 years at

the time of her death.

Frederick

and Janey were known for their love of animals, particularly cats and

dogs, and for their efforts to have them spayed, neutered and placed

in responsible, loving homes. Bob was adept at woodworking and

would often make cat carriers for Janey to transport animals to/from

the vet and/or to homes for adoption. Frederick was also handy with

many other tools. He earned the reputation of being able to fix just

about anything, and the children in the neighborhood would often

bring him their bikes, wagons, etc. to the house with the

understanding that Daddo would fix them. Many have wondered

how Frederick Carl Winters became known by most everyone as

Bob. His sister Dorothy, two years older, could not pronounce

Frederick when she was a small child, so she called him Ba,

which eventually morphed into Bob.

Frederick

worked for Mueller Brass Company as a purchasing agent for 41 years.

He took pride in being a tough negotiator in his efforts to always

secure the best product at the lowest price for his company. He

retired in 1979 and often joked about retiring 3 times because

Mueller Brass would often contract with him for short periods of time

to broker the best deal for them when it came to the purchase of big

ticket items. He was particularly fond of his last boss, Jack

Heltman, who made the work environment pleasant and prosperous during

the years preceding his retirement. Also, through Muellers, Bob

belonged to the PROTO ( Pro gressive

To gether)

Club, a service organization dedicated to helping needy children in

the community. His main responsibility over the years was purchasing

and wrapping several hundred Christmas presents which the PROTO Club

members delivered to needy families. It was a real treat when we

Charles and Brian (his sons) were sometimes allowed to play with

those toys before they were wrapped!

In

his later years, Frederick turned his time and attention to the Huron

Lightship. Through a chance meeting with Captain Ted Richardson and

Walt Smith, the 3 men began a labor of love to attempt to

restore the lightship to its original condition. Through the

sponsorship of the Port Huron Museum, numerous volunteers put in

endless hours over the years to return the Huron Lightship to its

glory days. In his later years, Bob enjoyed giving tours of

the lightship when he was no longer able to contribute to the

physical labor necessary for the ships restoration. He

particularly enjoyed working with Wayne Arnold who was the curator

from the Museum during his last couple of years of volunteering on

the lightship.

Frederick

was known for his quick wit and his dry sense of humor. With both of

his sons being educators, he enjoyed introducing himself as The

real

Mr. Winters. Bob also loved to tell stories, and he had a

knack for remembering interesting facts and trivia, based mostly on

his varied reading interests over the years. He lost his right leg

in a train accident when he was a young man, and he became a

voracious reader while he recovered in various hospitals. Some of

his friends affectionately referred to him as Encyclopedia Bob,

and his family always knew that if Bob didnt know the

answer to one of their questions, he would know how and where to find

it.

Frederick

is survived by his sons, Charlie (Carolyn) Winters, and Brian (Barb)

Winters; a sister, Marie Loewenthal, a brother Charles Corkie

(Ione) Winters, grandchildren, Melody and Dana Winters, Melissa

(Erin) Shoemaker and Matthew Winters, step-grandchildren, Ryan

Anderson, Amy (C.J.) Johnson, Laurel (Nani Agbeli) Finn, Jason

(Tonja) Deegan, Krista (Brent) Marquardt, 6 great grandchildren and

several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents,

Capt. George E. and Clara Eva Winters and a sister, Dorothy Phillips.

He is also survived by two long-time neighbors and wonderful

friends, Maxine Dickinson and her son Mark.

The

family would like to acknowledge and thank the staff at Independence

Pointe/Wing C at Marwood Manor and Rehab for their tender and

compassionate care during Fredericks stay there.

Cremation

has already taken place. Visitation will be held from 4 8 p.m.

Tuesday and from 10 a.m. Until the service time Wednesday at

Karrer-Simpson Funeral Home.

Funeral

services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the funeral home. The

Rev. Dan Bakay, Pastor of First Baptist church will officiate

In

lieu of flowers, Dad has requested that donations be made to the

Huron Lightship (c/o the Port Huron Museum) or the St. Clair County

Humane Society.