Victor WINSTON

WINSTON, Victor
Victor Winston, 90, died peacefully November 23, 2015 at home in Palm Beach, FL. His life was rife with challenges which he met with courage, determination and tenacity. He was raised in Vilna, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania) but as a teenager was forcibly resettled in Kazakhstan in Central Asia by the Soviets two week prior to the Nazi invasion. Through ingenuity, resourcefulness, and luck he survived World War II and came to the United States in 1946 almost penniless with minimal knowledge of English. Dictionary in hand he studied economic geography at Columbia University attaining a Masters Degree and authoring or co-authoring studies on Eastern Europe. He eventually found his home in publishing, transforming journals, creating new journals and publishing books in various academic disciplines. A rare combination of publisher and scholar, in 2010 he was awarded the American Association of Geographers prestigious "AAG Publication Award" for extraordinary contributions to the field of publishing, an honor infrequently bestowed. In 1971 prompted by concern for his autistic son, he founded the Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia (now the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders) at a time when there was a dearth of good data-based scholarship. His qualities of loyalty and commitment to family, friends and employees defined a man of great character who led a long, challenging and productive life. He will be missed by his wife, Belle (Jaroslaw); sons, Robert "Bobby" and Edward "Ted" and grandsons, Henry and Benjamin and his employees with whom he worked for more than two decades. If you wish to make a contribution in his memory, the Autism Services Center, 929 4th Avenue, Huntington, WV 25701 was very close to his heart.
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