JOHN E. WINSKE

1962 - 2020

WINSKE, John E. Of Boston, a disability rights leader, fierce advocate for the independent living community, and savvy entrepreneur, died on Nov. 20, 2020, while in Florida. He was 58. Born in Marlborough in 1962 with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, John was the son of the late Earl "Jack" Winske and the late Patricia (Kelley) Winske of Marlborough, and brother of the late Paul Winske of Orange. John is survived by his brother Robert Winske of Medford and his mother's longtime companion John Usinas of Marlborough. He also leaves behind his longtime friend and business partner, Liz Hardy Jackson of Hyde Park and his oldest friend and mentor, Kirk Joslin of Holliston. Advocacy was instilled in John at a young age as his mother fought to ensure their local public schools were accessible for children who use wheelchairs, including all three of her sons. By the age of 15, as part of an Easterseals youth program, John was urging members of Congress to improve access to housing and transportation for people with disabilities. In the 1980s, he was among a group of disabled Boston Celtics fans who chained themselves to the gates of the old Garden to protest the removal of wheelchair-accessible seating. He co-founded the nationally recognized Easterseals Technology Center for people with disabilities in downtown Boston, consulted on accessibility for the MBTA and businesses such as Dell Computer; and testified on Capitol Hill in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). John's dedication to people with disabilities spanned decades. He served as executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities and later directed fundraising for the Boston Center for Independent Living. His career culminated in leadership of the Disability Policy Consortium (DPC), a statewide organization with a goal of equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities. He was a board member from the DPC's inception in 1996 and served as executive director from 2014 until his retirement last year. Under John's guidance, the DPC became an influential advocacy group and think tank at the local and national levels. People with disabilities – from paralysis to deafness to autism and mental health diagnoses – comprised more than 80 percent of the DPC staff. This was in accordance with John's credo, "About Us, By Us," which was his way of elevating the enduring slogan, "Nothing about us without us." John was also a strong believer in the importance of intersectional advocacy, helping to establish and sponsor the first Disability Intersectionality Summit, which focused on the ways that the fight for disability rights interconnects with the fights against racism, sexism and homophobia. Colleagues described John as a cowboy-style leader, inspirational and unafraid to improvise because of his trust in his instincts. He could be showy and stubborn, and won people over with his sharp sense of humor. Breathing issues couldn't stop his momentum. John steered his powered wheelchair through the political and business worlds. In 1990, he was in the audience on the South Lawn of the White House as President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA, the first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities. In 1996, he launched a travel agency specializing in serving people with disabilities seeking accessible adventures. His volunteer work included a four-year appointment to the Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes and, with the DPC, spearheaded efforts to install curb ramps on the streets of Beacon Hill. He was a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. As a kind and thoughtful mentor, John encouraged many young people to become leaders and activists in the disability rights movement. He was a lifelong Red Sox fan who coached Little League baseball players in Medford for a few seasons – after challenging a discriminatory rule that barred wheelchair use on the field for safety reasons. In recent years, the self-described unrepentant gambler proudly checked off his bucket-list item, "Buy a racehorse." His self-described tiny share of a horse named Authentic paid dividends as a rare moment of delight in dreary 2020 when the thoroughbred won the Kentucky Derby. John will rest in peace in Marlborough with his parents and brother.

View the online memorial for John E. WINSKE