Dick Winslow, 1930-2003

Positive Voice member Dick Winslow, age 73, died on Friday, December 12, 2003.  He had been admitted to Appleton Medical Center on Monday, December 8, for heart surgery.

Dick was an elder of Memorial Presbyterian Church in Appleton and was involved both locally and nationally in urging the church to recognize its gay constituency.  As a founding member of The Lavender Salon, Dick was a good friend and ardent supporter of the gay & lesbian book group for some 13 years.  Dick was also active in public education on gay & lesbian issues, speaking to student groups at UW-Oshkosh and Fox Valley Technical College. He and his wife, Nancy, volunteered their services at the Fox Valley office of ARCW.  Most recently, Dick served as a board member of the Harmony Café in Appleton.

Richard Walter Winslow was born June 16, 1930 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He earned Masters and PhD degrees in Spanish from the University of Minnesota, which eventually led to a position teaching Spanish language and literature at Lawrence University in Appleton, from which he retired.

Dick served in Korea as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.  In 1953 he married Nancy Fawcett, with whom he was to celebrate a 50^th wedding anniversary this Christmas.  Dick is survived by his wife Nancy; sons Dana, Paul and Matthew; daughters Rachel and Sarah; and grandsons Adam, Christopher, Andrew and Travis.

Knee replacement surgery nearly 2 years ago brought complications of infection for Dick, affecting his health and mobility.  More recently he fractured a hip, but had recovered well enough from the prior surgery to be both mobile and active. 

In addition to The Lavender Salon, Dick belonged to the No Name Book Group.  He took pleasure as well in playing the piano.

A life celebration service for Dick was held on Friday, December 19, at Memorial Presbyterian Church in Appleton.  Funeral arrangements were handled by Whichmann Funeral Home.

Memorial donations may be sent to either of two addresses:

Bjorklunden
c/o Lawrence University
115 South Drew Street
Appleton, WI 54911

Harmony Café - Goodwill Industries
Attn: Shannon Kenevan
1800 Appleton Road
Menasha, WI 54953

Dick’s life and spirit touched many people involved with gay & lesbian issues in Northeast Wisconsin.  Positive Voice invites those who knew Dick to submit a memory of the man for posting below.  E-mail a contribution to: info@lavendersalon.org. Include your name (full, first name only or initials) and a locator (city/town or county).