Cindy Sue Winger

(Cindy) Sue Winger, nee Fosnough, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Jan 9, 2025 in her home in Long Grove, Illinois, surrounded by family members, after a long illness.

Independent and assertive to the last, she is remembered by family and friends as both an adventurous spirit and an elegant lady, both a loving & supportive wife & mother and a determined businesswoman making her way in the world, both a great cook and a talented, hands on, boat mechanic.

She grew up in Marion, Indiana. Just before her senior year in high school, the family moved to New York where she met Cadet John Winger at West Point. Two Christmases later, she first met John's family, and her youngest future brother-in-law still remembers being impressed by the glamorous girlfriend of his older brother. Cindy & John were married in 1966.

John's first assignment was in Germany where Cindy immersed herself in planning weekend excursions & longer vacations and hosting family visitors. One mishap was breaking her ankle on her first trip to a ski slope, Undaunted, she soon engineered a 3-day blitz of Paris in a walking cast.

Germany was followed by a 2-year stint in California where son Mike was born, John was in graduate school and Cindy was president of the large Officers Wives' Club of Stanford University.

Leaving Stanford, John went to Vietnam while Cindy & Mike lived with her supportive parents during those troubled times. Upon John's return, the small family moved to Virginia where son Mark was born. While there, Cindy became a Colonial Virginia and Civil War buff.

In 1974, John left the Army to join Electric in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Cindy joined Welcome Wagon and soon became president. As at Stanford, being president involved a lot of social activity and Cindy's house was the place to go. And Pittsfield skiing conditions were enticing enough that Cindy shrugged off her prior mishap and learned how to ski. And so did Mike.

In 1977, however, Cindy & John moved to Milwaukee to join a more dynamic GE business - Medical Systems which was expanding to include CT & MR.

Upon arrival, Cindy became president of the PTA for the local elementary school. As her sons became involved with soccer and wrestling, she learned the sports, cheered them on and took turns carpooling. She also took a great deal of interest in John's GE jobs and provided strong ongoing support and sound advice.

Cindy spent a year in real estate, earning recognition for outstanding performance, but then moved into the travel business to leverage her European experience and to also get more weekend & evening time with the family. The travel business was a great fit for her and by 1985 she had started her own company. It was a great fit for the family too. She was very proud to be able to take the family on multiple European vacations and to purchase her own Accura. And her family was proud of her. Gradually, though, the price structure of the travel industry changed and Cindy eventually had to shut the business down, but it was a great, culturally enriching run while it lasted.

On moving to Milwaukee, the family became heavily involved in boating and Cindy was an enthusiastic participant. She negotiated the price of successive sailboats and spent a Mother's Day weekend refurbishing one of these. For several years, Cindy, John & their boys sailed on Lake Geneva from a mooring adjacent to that of her sister and her family. Once her sister moved to the Carolinas, Cindy & John joined the Milwaukee Yacht Club (with a Lake Michigan sized boat Cindy had found). On the big lake, in emergency situations, she would read operator manuals and take corrective action while John remained at the helm to keep the boat under control in the interim. Or if there was a problem with a sail up front, she would go forward to fix it while John remained at the helm. She became Captain of the club's Cruising Fleet and led 17 boats 80 miles across the lake. Multiple participants had been reluctant to cross, but went because they knew Cindy would take care of them. Her activity provided more visibility to John and ultimately led to him becoming Commodore of the club. Cindy meanwhile became Commander of the Milwaukee Sail & Power Squadron.

Another project Cindy worked on was designing a new house. First, she searched the Milwaukee metropolitan area for both old homes and new construction, but couldn't find exactly what she wanted. Next, she checked out multiple library books, each with hundreds of designs, but again nothing was quite right. Next came a xerox, cut & paste effort combining the best features of multiple designs. Encouraged by the results, she bought drafting equipment and began smoothing out rough spots in the cut & paste effort. Finally, she hired an architect for further smoothing and a building contractor to construct the final product. The result was spectacular.

In 2009, following John's retirement, Cindy & John began to split time between Wisconsin in the summer and Florida in the in the winter ... initially Venetian Falls in Venice. In 2013 the Wisconsin home was sold preparatory to moving from Venetian Falls to a larger home in Osprey, Florida. Meanwhile, Cindy & John became quite active in the Venice Yacht Club, the Venice Sailing Squadron and the Venice Newcomers Club. At the yacht club, Cindy & John served on the Entertainment Committee and participated in cruising fleet activities; Cindy played bridge for multiple years while John served on the Finance Committee. At Venetian Falls, Cindy & John had a successful Bocce Ball career and served on the Entertainment Committee. At the Venice Sailing Squadron, they participated in varied cruising activities & other social events as well as squadron leadership. More generally, they enjoyed Florida historical sights, Florida birds (alligators not so much), Florida parks, the SILL lecture series and Florida winters. They also much enjoyed the close proximity of Cindy's sister Sherry Neary (Venice) & daughter Megan O'Carroll (Coral Springs) and Cindy's brother Dave Fosnough & wife Colleen (Venice).

In 2017, Cindy & John bought a smaller Milwaukee area home for summer use and to provide family entertainment crossed over to motorboating and re-engaged with the Milwaukee Yacht Club. In 2024, due to health concerns, Cindy & John returned to a single home now located nearby their sons in the Chicago area. In the past year they have taken their sons & families on several overseas vacations in order to share again the fun of such travel.

My great lady, I am glad we were able to have a last year of travel and a last boating season together and with our sons. We have shared a wonderful life together and I will always miss you. Rest now in peace .... love, your John

Funeral services were Saturday, January 18, 2025, at First United Methodist Church, 110 N. Cass Street, Wabash. Burial was in Falls Cemetery, Wabash. Arrangements by Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, Wabash.