Jeffrey Winters

This memoir was sent in by Deborah 'Deb' Parsons - who also contributed to the photos on the previous post! "What can I say about Jeff, (I never could get used to Jeffery- he will always be Jeff to me) but that I loved him so very much, and still do! He had the mind of an explorer, the heart of a dreamer, and was filled with tremendous love and compassion for others. He seemed to drink in life, always finding something new to explore and learn. I think that because Pam and Jen were so close in age that Jeff almost always got stuck with me. He was always such a great sport hanging out with me although he never let me forget that he was 5 years and 8-months older than me. I remember one time, I must have been about 10 or 11 and feeling very blue and unwanted, he wiped away my tears and said, "let's go for a drive". We got in the car, put the windows down while he drove me all over town, introduced me to people that he knew, and made me feel so special and grown-up. He acted like he was actually proud of me, I am sure I did absolutely nothing to add to his cool- factor, but he became a hero to me. I know when he stayed with us that next summer, there were many times I must have made him crazy. He was being starved, forced to eat puffed wheat, deprived of sugar (even in his ketchup), ran and did sit-ups with dad every morning, but was still patient with me while I stuck to him like glue. I remember my mom often saying to me- "Debbie, give Jeff a break!". We would often sit and listen to music together - actually Jeff introduced me to the Imperials and I remember he said his favorite song was "Praise the Lord", which has now become my favorite as well. Jeff never did anything halfway. I remember a funny story from my wedding day. After the ceremony, we were leaving as rice was being thrown, most people were tossing it gently in the air as we walked underneath, but not Jeff. When I got into the car, I turned to look at Shawn and he had his head over to the side and I said "What are you doing?" he said, "I'm trying to get the rice out of my ear- Jeffery got me good". Sure enough, we were laughing as we picked rice out of his hair and ear for the rest of the night. When we moved into our first house in Virginia, Jeff would come up to stay and we would spend hours having deep conversations outside on the deck. These are such wonderful memories. From his great bear hugs, calls, to his emoji texts. Jeff always had his way of making me feel cared about. June 12, 2016, at 6:12 pm he texted me from church and sent me the last 4 leaf clover I have ever received. To this day, every so often, I send his phone emojis to keep him current in my messages. "