Obituary of Leolene Winn

Lee Winn, 93, passed away on December 6, 2014 at the Wisconsin Rapids Care Center. After several months of experiencing various health issues, she suffered a debilitating stroke and slowly faded away. There will be a memorial service for Lee on Saturday, December 13, 2014 at the Herman -Taylor Funeral Home, 2201 Chestnut St., Wisconsin Rapids, WI. Visitation will begin at 11:00 A.M. and the service at 12:00 Noon, with a luncheon to follow at Lake Aire. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Lee's memory to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society (www.LLS.org) or to your favorite charity. Lee loved to give to good causes. The family invites anyone who would like to share a story or a memory of Lee to speak at the service or send written stories and pictures to Al & Sherry Cleveland, 7621 Deer Ln, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494, to be displayed. More sharing will be done at the luncheon. Lee's family would like to sincerely thank Joni Steinert, her neighbor and good friend, who helped care for her the last six months. Also, a big thank you to the staff of the Wisconsin Rapids Care Center for taking such wonderful care of Lee these past months. She grew to care for "her girls" very much. It was Lee's nature to make lasting friends wherever she went! We will miss our wonderful Mother/Grandmother every day! She was certainly "one of a kind"! Until we meet again, We Love You! In Lee's own words……. This is my "hello" and my "farewell". Since I have elected to have my body donated to Medical Science, I only wish for a memorial service. It is my wish to say farewell to all my family and friends and hope that you will miss me as much as I have enjoyed having you in my life during my learning experience on this earth. I have learned a lot and also enjoyed many wonderful years, but now it is time for me to make the transition alone. Just remember, I loved all of you. I inhaled my first breath on October 1, 1921, in a farm house in Clark County, Lynn, Wisconsin. I was the only daughter of Arthur and Olga (Spicer) Grassman. I grew up with three brothers, John, Rudy and Roy, who have all predeceased me, along with their wives and our parents. I enjoyed four years at Granton High School, being on the debate team and in Glee Club. I was a cheer leader and a Prom Queen. I graduated in 1939 and then spent one year at Wood County Teachers College in Wisconsin Rapids, ran out of money and had to get a job. The real world surfaced in a hurry. I washed dishes in a restaurant, worked in a bakery, waited tables at the Elks Club, and clerked at various stores. I had three years of banking experience and finally obtained a job at the Wood County Clerk's Office and retired from there as a Payroll Supervisor on February 7, 1985 after 31 years. I was united in marriage to Melbourne Cleveland on October 7, 1940 and was privileged to have four great children: Carol Rippier and Alfred (Sherry) Cleveland of Wisconsin Rapids, Melbourne (Helen) Cleveland, Jr. of Mission, TX, and Richard Cleveland, who passed away on July 8, 2001 from leukemia. Richard's wife, Sharon Cleveland, of Plover, WI , survives. My son-in-law, Horace (Rip) Rippier also passed away. I have always said I have the best 3 daughters-in-law a mother could ask for. My first marriage went sour and we divorced on March 4, 1974, and I moved on. I did enjoy bowling, organized the Retired Wood County Employees get-together, and was a charter member of the Sweet Adelines. I enjoyed crafts, cross word puzzles, letter writing and sending cards to shut-ins, as well as remembering all my friends and relatives birthdays. I was a Lifetime Member of the Ladies VFW Auxiliary, served on the Wood County Board of Supervisors, and was a director of the Central Wisconsin State Fair Board for 9 years. I especially enjoyed my group of friends who gathered on Wednesday afternoons at Goose's Pub to shake dice and talk smart! On April 26, 1986, I was united in marriage to an old class mate, Donald Winn and acquired an extended family: Don's children, James (Toni) Winn, David (Joanne) Winn and Judy (Thomas) Ballino and their families in Colorado. I always enjoyed their company on our many visits. I am also survived by Don's brother and his wife, Bernard and Edythe Winn of Bay City, MI. Don's other two brothers, Ralph and Ronald Winn and their wives predeceased me. We lived for a time at Don's place in the mountains near Denver, Colorado, where I made some great friends. However, I missed my Wisconsin family and friends, and we moved back to Wisconsin Rapids. Don and I enjoyed traveling in our R.V, until father time stepped in and told us it was time to give it up. We then bought a place in Mesa, AZ and spent our winters there beginning in 1990, where we met a whole new group of wonderful friends. Don and I had 17 great years together, until September 15, 2002, when he passed away. People kept wondering why I would continue to travel back and forth to AZ by myself, much to my family's great concern. (Last winter was my final trip there.) I was just practicing for this, my final journey, when I knew I would have to go it alone, because I knew no one could go with me on this trip. I have been blessed to see my family and their families grow to adult hood. I have 9 treasured grandchildren: Russell, Raelene, Teri, Cam, Scott, Kristin, Stacy, Jeff and Michele. I also have 16 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren, as well as 10 step-grandchildren and 7 step-great grandchildren, I love them all! I was able to enjoy a wonderful 90th surprise birthday party, which most of them were able to attend, along with my many friends! What a pleasure this has been. I will miss seeing you all from time to time. I am sorry, I have to leave now to explore new territory. As the old saying goes, we are only visitors passing through this great land of ours. Now it is time to close and say farewell. What a journey this has been. Miss me, but carry on, enjoy your life and each other while you can. It is much later than you think. I am sure we will meet again, I just don't know where or when. With much love and gratitude to my family and my many cherished friends it has been a great life. How I managed to get to 93 years old, I'll never know. I think I have my mother to thank for that. Make me half the woman my mother was and I'll know I've been blessed. Give me half of her courage and loving care and a kingdom I'll possess. When I was young and foolish, I heard but I didn't heed. Her words of wisdom, her sound advice, her words I didn't need. When I grew older and wiser, I saw what I hadn't seen, her strength to cope with adversity and do it with dignity. No need for the 10 commandments, when I came to a fork in the road. I had only to think what she would have done, and again, she'd carry my load. Make me half the mom to my children, as the mom she was to me, and I know that I will rest in peace, throughout eternity. Online condolences may be expressed at www.taylorfuneralhome.net