Eulene Winsor

Eulene Winsor was a beloved wife, mother and grandmother and a friend of God. Her faith and family were of utmost importance to her, yet she was caring of everyone around her. Grateful for all that she had, Eulene was generous to others and lived each day as a gift from God.

Eulene was born during a decade of change in America, from assembly line manufacturing to women’s suffrage, faster Model Ts to ragtime bands, silent motion pictures to shorter hemlines. With all these changes came one more for J. Amos and Mattie (Mills) Leslie of Gratiot County, Michigan. They welcomed their first child, daughter Eulene, on April 27, 1912. Though raised on a farm, Eulene was never given outside chores to do because she had three younger brothers who fulfilled those tasks. Rather, Eulene helped her mother at home and learned skills of housekeeping, sewing, cooking and baking that she drew upon throughout her adult life.

Thoughts of raising her own family came at a young age, when Eulene met a fine young man at a Saturday night house dance. From that first meeting, Gerald Winsor and Eulene began a relationship that grew into love and commitment, and the two were married in Ithaca, Michigan in July of 1930. On that memorable wedding day, seventeen year old Eulene joined her life with Gerald, who was four years her senior. Just as monumental that year, yet even more enduring, was Eulene’s commitment to the Lord. At a revival meeting, she had walked the aisle with her father and accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. He became the foundation of her life and that of her family’s, as she taught all of her children to love and serve the Lord.

Eulene and Gerald were blessed with eight children, all growing up on a farm as their mother had. Before he inherited the family’s dairy farm, Gerald worked hard as a tenant farmer during the Depression years. Yet even with their own dairy business, he took a variety of other jobs to make ends meet, and Eulene also picked-up cleaning jobs to help the family budget. Together, the two of them built a stable life for their children, based on faith and faithfulness.

Eulene established patterns of work and worship that impacted her children. On a certain day of the week, the kids would leave in the morning with their mom doing laundry or ironing, and when they returned home in the afternoon, she was still finishing those chores. Each Sunday morning, she got every child ready for church, and on many occasions, she brought baked goods as well. No person was a stranger to Eulene, and in her older years, even non-relatives called her by the endearing name, “Grandma Winsor.” In these and so many other ways, Eulene exemplified hard work, care and compassion as the trademarks of her life.

For 32 years, Eulene and Gerald treasured their life together. Their love was true and deep. When he died in December of 1962, she lost the love of her life and never remarried. Yet her faith was strong and her church was supportive. Eulene remained active in the Congregational Christian Church of Maple Rapids, Michigan, and up until five years before her passing, she was still baking dozens of dinner or cinnamon rolls for their functions, as well as for family gatherings.

Eulene was a gentle woman who lived a humble life, but she also had a tough, competitive streak in her. She was intense when she played games and could beat just about anyone at cards or word games. As if to reinforce her prowess, she often left the score sheet in plain view for days.

That sharpness of mind and energetic spirit were evident in more ways. When Eulene set out to write a nursery rhyme book for her children, she not only completed it, she had it published. Such vitality and good health over many years, enabled Eulene to live in her own home until February of 2009. She died six months later on August 17, 2009 at the age of 97.

Eulene’s beloved family will most miss her keen mind that enabled her to be present to them for many, many years as "Mommy."

Eulene V. Winsor is survived by her children, Carl James (June) Winsor of Riverdale, Geraldine Jean (Kenneth) Gager of Alma, Glen (Carolyn) Winsor of Perrinton, Marilyn (Kenneth) Bentley of Riverdale, Lauren (Beverly) Winsor of Rainbow Lake, Leola (Roger) LaShombe of Rock Hill, South Carolina and William (Vicki) Winsor of Perrinton, daughter-in-law, Marilyn (Chuck) Gallagher of Perrinton, 37 grandchildren, 104 great grandchildren, 66 great-great grandchildren, sister-in-law, Dellie Leslie, many nieces and nephews and step grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her son, Duane and 3 brothers, Ronald, Wayne and Roland, 2 grandchildren, Janice Arlene and Stanley Ivan.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 21, 2009 at Maple Rapids Congregational Christian Church with Pastor Jerry Kissling officiating, burial at Fulton Center Cemetery. The family will receive friends 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday and 2-4 and 6-8 p.m., Thursday at the Abbott Chapel of Osgood Funeral Homes, 509 E. Main St., Maple Rapids, MI. Sympathy may be expressed in the form of memorial contributions to Maple Rapids Congregational Christian Church, 410 S. Maple, Maple Rapids, MI 48853.