James A Winn

James A (Jim) Winn died on April 25, 2024 at the age of 65 after a long illness. Jim is survived by sisters Elizabeth (Bea) Winn of Philadelphia, Mary Winn of Philadelphia, Regina Brush of Collegeville, PA, and Valerie Winn of Philadelphia as well as niece Audrey Brush of Philadelphia, nephew Sam Brush of New York, NY and former wife Gail Winn of Odenton, MD along with numerous paternal and maternal cousins. Jim is preceded in death by his parents Jim and Betty.

Quick wit, intelligence, kindness, compassion and charisma described Jim, as did his passion for the law. A proud resident of the Fishtown section of Philadelphia, where Jim's sense of commitment, hard work, civic mindedness and love of the law were founded and later molded into a distinguished legal career of more than 25 years with the United States Federal government.

Jim's academic career provided him with the structure, rigor and discipline necessary for a career in the law. Like his father before him, Jim graduated from the Holy Name of Jesus Parochial School. St Joseph's Preparatory School followed, then La Salle College where he earned his BA in Political Science cum laude before earning his juris doctorate from the Villanova University School of Law.

Jim began his career at the Social Security Administration in March 1995 in the Office of the General Counsel (OCG). Jim was extremely successful in this role, and even assisted the US Solicitor General in winning a unanimous (9-0) U.S. Supreme Court decision that saved over $80 billion dollars for the federal government. He was also very successful in his more than 12 years of Federal Senior Executive Service experience in creating, expanding, and reorganizing four executive-level offices, including the Office of the Federal Reviewing Official and the Decision Review Board. Jim garnered numerous Commissioners' and General Counsels financial and honorary awards. In addition, in 2007 he earned the Presidential Rank Award "for sustained superior accomplishment in management of programs of the United States Government and for noteworthy achievement of quality and efficiency in the public service." Never one to rest on his laurels, in 2008 Jim assumed the position of Chief of Staff for Social Security Administration Commissioner. A year later, Jim became the Commissioner's Executive Counselor, a role he served until he joined the Appeals Council as administrative appeals judge in December 2010 and continued until his retirement in 2020.

Jim was a "foodie" who could quote a Julia Child recipe faster than a federal statute, was cinephile and a Film Noir aficionado, and though he appreciated music of all kinds, was a rock-n-roll trivia savant who could cite the lyrics of any song, name any band including band members past and present and listed Bob Dylan among his favorite musical artists. Jim remained a good will ambassador for Fishtown where he will be interred at the historic Palmer Cemetery alongside his parents.

Family and friends are invited to a memorial service at the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church (701 Gaul Street Philadelphia, PA 19125) with visitation from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM followed by a Liturgy service at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, Jim's family asks that you make donations in Jim's name to:

National Brain Tumor Society - NBTS - https://braintumor.org

American Brain Tumor Association - ABTA - https://www.abta.org/