Winton Allen Winter
Born August 20, 1930, Garnett, Kansas. Died: May 4, 2013, Ottawa, Kansas.
Born August 20, 1930, Garnett, Kansas, Winton “Wint” Winter attended public schools in Lawrence and the University of Kansas (KU) where he was a three-year letterman on the football team. He served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea and later earned his law degree from the University of Kansas in 1956.
He married Nancy Morsbach, and together they raised five children in Ottawa where he had a law practice and served as a district court judge. He served as national chairman of the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association and was one of three owners of the Pizza Hut franchise, which covered most of the state of Mississippi.
Winter served in the Kansas Senate from 1968 through 1980, chairing both the judiciary committee and the ways and means committee. He owned the OK Ranch near Junction City and later a ranch near Williamsburg. He joined the KU rugby football club in 1973 at the age of 43 where he played continually for more than 30 years. At one time he served as the club’s president. He was an active member of the Lecompton Historical Society where the Winter family first established their Kansas roots.
In 1973 he founded Peoples, Inc., a bank holding company, which grew from a single Ottawa location to offices in eight states. He served as its chairman (later chairman emeritus) until his death on May 4, 2013, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Entry: Winton Allen Winter
Author: Adam Winter
Date Created: February 2014
Date Modified: February 2014
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
