Winslow Moani Ching

Winslow Moani Ching, 60, of Chinese and Hawaiian descent and born and raised in Honolulu, died on September 1, 2023 in Chicago, IL. A self-made man, he completed a high school equivalency diploma and quickly "got off the rock", graduating from cosmetology school in Los Angeles in is early 20s, and subsequently moving to Southbury, Connecticut, where he lived for some 35 years, most of these with his good and true friend and roommate, Allen Lawrence, ultimately succoring Allen mightily during the final stages of a chronic illness.

During his years in Connecticut, he formed Litchfield Hairworks, where he served his clientele not only with notable skill (his specialty was color), but with great and congenial affection. In 1997, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a flight attendant for United Airlines, where he worked for 25 years. Based in EWR or JFK, he preferred coast-to-coast flights. Out of EWR in 2012 he worked his first international flight, to IST. He continued his cosmetology practice.

In 2004, on a layover in ORD, he met John P. Case, M.D. , and the two carried out a "bicoastal" relationship for 16 years. Their first true date was in YVR, where Winslow introduced John to Stanley Park, Granville Island, the Aquarium, and the city itself. John recalls particularly fondly sitting on the shoreline with Winslow and watching the ships pass by as the two pondered life.

Winslow consolidated his hair styling practice in 2009, being kindly invited to work alongside his colleague, Craig Linsley, in the latter's salon in nearby Bantam, CT, Craig's. The two became great friends.

In January 2020, after having wound up Litchfield Hairworks at Craig's, he moved to the East Lakeview section of Chicago into the home of Dr. Case, and the two were married on December 7, 2020, in a civil ceremony during the covid-19 pandemic. In September 2022, he transferred his United base from EWR to ORD, and was still flying at the time of his passing.

Winslow was an inveterate carnivore and took pride in his skills with the grill but, like a good Hawaiian, he enjoyed dessert and regarded his baking skill as his culinary sine qua non. He enjoyed throwing parties, whether ad-hoc at layovers in SFO or LAX (or joining the Air France F/A crew in a frenetic music-driven layover in EZE). For many of these he was joined by his partner John, including celebrations in their ORD home on New Year's Eve or on the days of the ORD Pride parade.

Allen Lawrence, in particular, recalled Winslow for his stubbornness, not inevitably an attractive attribute. During his probationary period as a United F/A, Winslow hit a deer in Connecticut en route to work in EWR, totaling his car. He called a tow truck and was towed the 80 remaining miles to the EWR United employee parking lot. The driver would not tow Winslow's car into the gated lot for insurance reasons. Winslow begged and cajoled and in the end, presented with some cash and a box of donuts, the driver relented and berthed Winslow's vehicle safely into a parking space. Winslow made the check-in for the trip on time.

Having tremendous affection for animals (including deer), he once jumped into an ice-covered river to save his beloved yellow Labrador, Lola, who had fallen under the ice. He also loved another Labrador, Brooke, and cats such as Story, Lora, and Monte; but above all cats he loved Tavist D, an American shorthair classic silver tabby who lived with John. Tavist and John would frequently pass-ride on Winslow's working trips, and the three of them vacation in places such as CDG, Brittany, Avignon, and ZRH as well as countless American and Canadian cities such as BOI, OKC, LAS, YVR and YYZ and of course, SFO.

Winslow was predeceased by his wise, warm, and cunning mother, Winifred Ching (née Chun), who died on June 25, 2007 and his father, the endlessly toiling Ernest Ching (an eye witness of the attack on Pearl Harbor), who died on May 21, 2014, as well as by his brother, Gaylord Ching, who died on June 30, 2017.

Winslow is survived by his husband John; his sisters, Kalowena Komeiji and Momilani Dufault; their offspring, his nieces and nephews Samantha and Matthew Ching, Kawena and Mahena Komeiji, and Caitlin and Jonathan Dufault.

Universally known and beloved for his warm and effusive generosity, his kindness, his wit, he leaves behind a legacy of affection from virtually all his friends (in Connecticut; in ORD, including the building staff of his Lakeview apartment, and from his husband's colleagues), family, co-workers from United (among very many, Terry Redwine and Gayle Kamei) and from his salons in Connecticut (again, among many, his friend and mentor, Pamela Kennedy), as well as his many grateful, often loving clients and customers of the Connecticut hair salon and of United Airlines.

Most seek to be kind, many achieve kindness. In the lives of a very few is kindness the essence, the archetypal and dominating character trait. To have known and loved one of these people is a special gift.