John William Winans

John William Winans
February 7, 1952 to July 11, 2014
Married July 18, 1992 - July 11, 2014

Lifelong Aiken resident died Friday afternoon in his "Wright" treehouse after losing a long battle to illness.  John is survived by his loving wife Rebecca and daughters Krystina (husband Colemann Rusch and granddaughter Catherine), Eva, Brittany, and son William.  He was son to the late William Horace and Lucille Booster Winans, and brother to his infant sister Sarah.

John was one of those rare individuals, a Renaissance man.  Though a Clemson civil engineer, his eclectic interests included:  music (he had a wonderful strong baritone singing voice), health (a Chapter Leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation), sailing and power boating, soaring (in gliders), theater, traveling, architecture (he loved Frank Lloyd Wright design), and of course cooking.  John was a voracious reader - he truly loved learning.  John not only knew the theory of many disciplines, he also had the gift of practical application - he could build or rebuild most anything.  When John was a principal in the old Southeastern Clay Company, it was not unusual to find him happily waist deep in kaolin under a mill leading any necessary repairs.  When Southeastern was sold, John and his Rebecca opened Noble Breads.  This, of course, gave outlet to his drive to develop new and delicious recipes.  John loved and respected God and looked for God's grace in everyone and everything, especially children and animals.  Vacations were often spent in camp grounds, with a particular fondness for North Carolina's Camp Linn Haven.  His favorite campgrounds were in Olympic National Park in the Pacific northwest.  John's illness resulted in his withdrawing somewhat from the community and friends.  His gentle spirit and love for teaching truly shall be missed.

A festive service of Celebration is being planned, and will be announced in the coming weeks when all the musicians are available.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to these on-going learning institutions:

Belles Canto (please earmark as:  Memorial for John W Winans)
C/O Diane Haslam
Vocal Dimensions Voice Studio
109 Broughton Drive
Aiken SC 29803
(803) 642-2316 studio/home
https://www.facebook.com/BellesCanto
 

The Weston A Price Foundation (please earmark as: Memorial for John W Winans)
   4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
   Washington, DC 20016 USA                                                     Phone:  (202) 363-4394                   http://www.westonaprice.org/
The Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (please earmark as: Memorial for John W Winans)
7890 Broadway
Lemon Grove, CA 91945
(619) 462-7600
(800) 366-3748 (U.S. Only)
http://ppnf.org/support-ppnf/donate/

If you would like to send flowers, contact  Palmetto Nursery and Florist, 803-645-5111

palmetto_nursery@hotmail.com

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On the day when death will knock at your door
what will you give to him?
Oh, I will set before my guest
the full vessel of my life.
I will never let him go with empty hands.
by Rabindranath Tagore [excerpted]