Richard Winkler

1929 - 2025

Richard Everett Winkler passed away peacefully in his home, surrounded by family, on December 18, 2025 in Modesto, California. Richard was born on January 22, 1929 in Ferndale, CA to Emil and Florence Winkler. He attended Ferndale High School and earned a Civil Engineering Degree from University of California, Berkeley. He married Geraldine Erickson in 1952 and they were married for 73 years until his passing.

Shortly after getting married, Richard joined the Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean Conflict and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1953 after graduating Officer's Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. His first duty assignment was to Fort Scott, located at the Presidio in San Francisco. He completed several temporary duty assignments to complete various engineering projects such as a six-month stint to survey and map vast areas of the rugged Alaskan mountains. He subsequently promoted to First Lieutenant and became a Company Commander for the remainder of his time in the military.

After military life ended in 1955, Richard and Geraldine (a newly-minted nurse) settled in Turlock CA, which would serve as their base as they established themselves and begin having children (4 total). Richard was hired as the Assistant City Engineer where he would begin making lifelong friendships. He also worked on three occasions for the Department of Water Resources in Sacramento, where he helped design, construct, and oversee maintenance of portions of the project to move water from Northern CA to Southern CA (California Aqueduct). His prime jewel was the Delta Pumping Plant that was a key component of the massive effort to push the water south. He returned to Turlock in 1959 where he served simultaneously as City Engineer and Public Works Director. His subsequent jobs included City Engineer for Patterson, District Engineer for West Stanislaus Irrigation District and Westside Engineering, a company which he would later own, and Assistant Department Manager at the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) where he would eventually retire.

Richard was also active as a board member at his church, Bethel Temple (now Harvest Church) where he also designed and oversaw construction of a large multipurpose facility for the youth group. He was involved with numerous special projects including the popular singing Christmas Tree, and sang regularly in the church choir. He spent his free time skiing, scuba diving, gardening, traveling, auto repair and body work, and of course spending family time with his wife, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Richard was preceded in death by his own two brothers Jere and Robert and his two sisters Anista and Florence. He is survived by his wife Geraldine, sons Mark, Steven, and David and daughter Linda. He also leaves 9 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren as well as many cherished nieces and nephews.

Services for Richard will be announced at a later date.