Dr. Stephen S. Winters

Dr. Stephen S. Winters Dr. Stephen S. Winters, 83, died Saturday, July 5, 2003. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Doris H. Winters. The service will be at 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday at Temple Israel. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Dr. Stephen S. Winters' Omicron Delta Kappa Endowed Scholarship Fund, FSU Foundation, 225 University Center, Bldg. C, Suite 3100, Tallahassee, FL 32306, or Temple Israel, 2215 Mahan Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32308. Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, Riggins Road Chapel (877-8191) is handling arrangements. One of the FSU "Forty Niners," he came to Tallahassee with his wife and one month old son to a newly created Department of Geology. Typical of his legendary sense of humor, Dr. Winters remarked in an April 1999 interview that when he joined the large contingent of new faculty "the president was Dr. Campbell, who is now a stadium, and then Dr. Strozier, who is now a library." Dr. Winters' passion for teaching shaped his life and his career. When named dean of basic studies (later renamed undergraduate studies), he stipulated that he be permitted to teach a geology class every term, a practice he continued until his retirement in 1985. He continued to teach geology at FSU for another five years. He also served as director and then as dean of the University Honors Programs (1967-1985). He was a member of numerous organizations and served as faculty adviser to Delta Zeta Sorority for more than 30 years. Dr. Winters received many honors and awards including the first Ross Oglesby Award in 1973 and membership in the prestigious FSU Circle of Gold in 1996. Throughout his career as a scientist and educator, he believed ardently in the importance of the liberal arts. In one of his many speeches he said that "although majors or early career choices may become dated, the world of the mind, created by a liberal education, never becomes obsolete." Dr. Winters was born in New York City. He received his Bachelors of Arts in geology in 1942 from Rutgers University, and both his Master of Arts in geology in 1948 and Doctor of Philosophy in geology in 1955 from Columbia University. During World War II he served in the Pacific Theater as a First Lieutenant with the Eighth Photographic Technical Unit, Army Air Corps. Other survivors include a son, Philip D. Winters of Arlington, Va.; a daughter, Martha K. Winters of Tallahassee; a brother, Lenny Weingarten of Butler, N.J.; an aunt, Lila King of New Jersey; several nieces and nephews; and a great many friends and thousands of former students all over the world.