Obituary of Barbara Ruth Winterstein

Barbara was born on March 17, 1943 in Seattle, Washington to Lester and Margaret Turcott. She was baptized on May 3, 1943 by Rev. O. Winterstein in Auburn, Washington, father of future husband G. R. Winterstein. She graduated from Renton High School in 1961. She started her higher education at Concordia College in Portland, OR, and continued on to Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, IL, and graduated in 1965. Her first assignment was teaching 4th graders at Concordia Lutheran School Tacoma, where she met her husband, George Richard Winterstein. They married on June 12, 1966. In 1968 the first of her three children were born, Richard; in 1970 her daughter Joanne was born. In 1972, her husband accepted a position as a 5th and 6th grade teacher at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Fremont, CA. Two years later, Michael was born. Once all her children were in school, she returned to teaching at Prince of Peace as a 4th grade teacher. She continued teaching until 1991. Unfortunately in 1982, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. However, after a successful surgery and treatment, she was able to return to teaching. Upon retirement in 1991, she remained involved in many activities. A second stroke of misfortune occurred in 1996. She was struck by a car and remained in a coma for three days. Even though she recovered physically after many months of therapy, she never quite fully recovered mentally. In the following years, Barbara had reoccurring health needs and concerns. When her husband retired in 2001, they returned to the Northwest, to Puyallup, WA. Barbara's health continued to decline, and was taken from us on September 26, 2009. Barbara is survived by her younger siblings, James Turcott of Bothell, WA, Virginia Henning of Seattle, WA and Diane Birchman of Thousand Oaks, CA, her family, husband George Richard Winterstein, and children Richard, Joanne, and Michael Winterstein. A graveside service will be held on Friday Oct. 2, 2 p.m. at Woodbine Cemetery. A memorial service will be held on Saturday Oct. 3 at 1 pm at Prince of Peace Church in Lakewood.