Dennis Edward Winters

1937 - 2021

Dennis Edward Winters, 83

Aug. 21, 1937 - June 14, 2021

Grand Rapids, MI - Memorial Service and Reception June 11, 2022, 2:00-4:00 PM Atherton VFD 3900 Sheridan, Butte

Dennis Edward Winters was an educator and life-long learner. He grew up in Butte, MT, the son of Ed "Lefty" Winters and Cassie McCarten Winters, who preceded him in death. Lefty encouraged Dennis' love of learning by constantly asking him "Did you learn anything?" Cassie kept him in line by simply saying, "My Denny wouldn't do that." He is survived by younger sisters: Nancy Winters Traeger and Cassie Lee Winters Schomburg. Dennis and Nancy loved to tease each other and enjoyed "laugh-y" times. Cassie Lee and Dennis loved to talk, sharing many happy moments discussing art and philosophy. He is also survived by nieces and nephews John, Jennifer, Bill, and Doug Trager, as well as Daniel Schomburg and grandnieces and grandnephews Cole, Kelsey, Amelia, Nolan, and Thomas.

When Dennis started undergrad work at Western Montana University, he wanted to teach high school in Innis and fish the Madison River. After finishing his master's degree in speech at age 22, he was happy to go to Billings and fish the Yellowstone River while teaching at Eastern Montana University from 1959-1961.Younger than most of his students, Dennis loved to go to a bar and debate whatever was under discussion. Little did they know they were having a casual bar discussion with a winning debater and debate coach! From 1961-1962, Dennis directed the debate program at De Paul University, Chicago, IL, the youngest faculty member ever at the school. Still winning debates and training winning debaters, he moved on to Minot University in North Dakota, where he held the position of Director of Debate from 1962-1966. In 1968, Dennis began work on his PhD at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Rhetoric and public speaking were still Dennis' passion, but he took a new perspective in the field: instead of "counting words" he chose to analyze speeches in their contemporary environment. A student introduced him to Jesse Jackson, the subject of his dissertation, and this became a turning point in his life. The rhetoric and organizing concepts that Jackson used defined Dennis' perspective on engagement and involvement in fighting injustice in a world divided by income, race and religion. With his PhD and passion in hand, Dennis next taught in Humboldt, CA, where he explored making education relevant not only to students, but to the community. From Humboldt, he traveled to Spain, France, England, and Wales, and lived in Malaysia.

In 1974, ready to teach again, he taught at Thomas Jefferson College, Grand Valley State University in Michigan, becoming Acting Dean in 1975. In 1977, Dennis moved away from education and began a consulting firm, Winters LeFurge, in Washington, DC, with his partners, Deborah Sellers and Michelle LeFurge. For 10 years, Dennis provided policy analysis for Middle East clients. Debate training, justice, and relevance all found common ground with his talent for speech writing, advising, and analysis. In 1986, Dennis moved back to Montana spending time at his beloved cabin in Darby and his hometown, Butte. With partners, Michelle LeFurge, and Connie and Herb Townsend, he started Montana Market Development Company to help Montanans grow their economy. He was fortunate to participate in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program in Butte, where he met 10 year-old Jim Meadow, who remained a much loved friend for the rest of Dennis' life. In 1988, Dennis and Michelle-the love of his life-were married in what a former client said was "a merger not a marriage."

Dennis is survived by Michelle, his wife of 33 years and business partner of 44 years. Leaving Montana in 1994, Dennis and Michelle went on to live and work in Thailand and then in Saudi Arabia. Returning to Washington, DC in 1997, Dennis took up a new consulting challenge, this time with American companies. In 2004 he returned to his true calling and began teaching at the University of Maryland, as a Professor in the Graduate School of Management & Technology where he remained for over 10 years. Dennis firmly believed that "life is its own reason," but that was tested as his health declined. Medical hindsight showed that he suffered for years from mini-strokes that slowly sapped his energy and his cognition. He never stopped fighting to stave off further decline and died fighting for life. For Dennis, death was as absolute as life: "when it's over, it's over." His huge spirit and unmistakable presence will be sorely missed by those he helped, worked with and loved for over 84 years.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the doctoral student scholarship fund in Dennis' name. You can donate here:

https://alumni.umgc.edu/s/710/alumni-22/interior.aspx?sid=710&gid=1&pgid=2528&cid=4527&ecid=4527