Michael David Winchester

Michael David Winchester was born on February 26th, 1968, the son of Mary Winchester and Howard (Buzz) McWilliams III. He lived with his mother in Sioux City IA where they were joined by the birth of his brother, John, in December 1969. The family moved to Des Moines in 1974, and then to Norwalk where the boys continued elementary school. Mike graduated from Norwalk High School in May 1986.

A talented artist, Mike chose to attend the University of Northern Iowa to pursue fine arts. While there, he met Faith Wagoner, who later became his partner for life, and he found best friends with whom he has remained tightly connected through the years. Mike and Faith liked to think they were both in the same World Religions night class one semester. Mike left UNI after two years, and after Faith graduated, he decided to join her at Mankato State University and complete his undergrad there. Mike and Faith were married on September 1st, 1990, in Earlham IA. He graduated in May of 1993 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing.

While at MSU he worked for the Reporter campus newspaper doing ad layouts and was also actively building his computer design skills. After graduation he went to work at Clear with Computers doing animation and graphic design. In January 1995, Mike and Faith brought their daughter, Faris, into the world. The family stayed in Mankato until December of 1998 when they moved to Ames IA. Mike had taken a job in Ames in June 1998 with Engineering Animation Inc. working in the computer games division. While there he worked on Disney: A Bug's Life ActivePlay, and Disney: Toy Story 2 Activity Center, as well as other games and projects. The family moved to Nevada IA in June 1999. In 2000, Mike joined a company based at Camp Dodge doing work converting training manuals to interactive online training programs. He was a motivated learner and exceptionally good at teaching himself how to do things by reading and studying online, and he was an extraordinary resource for others. When the contracts ended on the base, Mike spent about a year doing temp work, which included the hand bindery team at Sigler Companies. He was hired full time in 2014, and then joined the Technology Resources/Web Development team as a front-end web designer.

In March of 2016, Mike became seriously ill, was hospitalized, and found out that he had Stage 4 colon cancer, metastasized to his liver. It was the beginning of 9+ years of life with surgeries, procedures, and chemo treatments as the cancer also moved to his lungs. It was also during that time that Mike and Faith took six cruises, train trips to Flagstaff AZ and Seattle WA, and many road trips to destinations like Mackinac Island, Devil's Tower, Emerald Island NC, Oneida NY, and Virginia Beach VA. Mike bought his signature sparkly shoes for Faris' wedding, and he became World's Best Poppy to two grandchildren who adored him. Mike and Faith camped with their travel trailers and enjoyed adventures finding letterboxes and Atlas Obscura sites, along with many weekend get-aways with their other two "bestie" couples. Mike loved biking (no, not RAGBRAI), and he and his brother, John, spent many hours riding together in central Iowa. Mike's love of music was legendary, and he was designated DJ at every gathering. He loved board games, movies, art, and books, and most recently he was re-reading Dictionary of the Khazars. He had a sharp wit and an incredible wealth of knowledge. Mike will be remembered for his courage, kindness and patience, for his resilience and optimism, and for the joy and light he carried and shared with everyone who knew him.

Mike was preceded in death by his father. He leaves behind his mother Mary; his wife of almost 35 years, Faith; their daughter Faris and her spouse; two grandchildren; his brother John, and nephew Logan. A celebration and remembrance of Mike's life will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames in September.

Rasmusson-Ryan Funeral Home in Nevada has been entrusted with the care of Mike and his arrangements. Condolences may be shared online with the family at www.rasmussonfh.com.