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Obituary for Wil
Wilfred (Wil) Sherman Winter was born April 19, 1941, to Alfred and Bessie Winter of Parkerville, Kansas.
Wilfred (Wil) received Christ as his Savior at the age of 10 and was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1959 at age 19. He preached part-time while working for a laundry in Council Grove, KS. After marrying Claire Braun, he felt the Lord calling him into full-time Christian service. He applied and was accepted at Dallas Bible College in Dallas, Texas. Following his graduation in 1966, Wil, Claire and their two girls moved to Ansley, Nebraska, where he pastored his first church. From is brother-in-law Ralph Braun, he learned to teach home Bible classes using “The Old and New Testament Walk Through” method and was soon teaching two or three classes each week. Whole families would come directly from work and stay until 10:00 p.m. because they were hungry for the Word.
After 3 years, Wil and his family moved to a second pastorate in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Realizing the need for more training, he moved the family back to Dallas and spent two more years at Dallas Bible College learning Biblical Greek.
In June of 1972, Ralph Braun invited Wil to teach Greek in the seminary Ralph had established in the church he was pastoring. Wil, Claire and their three children moved to Brookings, Oregon where he spent 9 years teaching Greek, Hebrew, and doctrinal subjects to seminary students.
In 1981, Ralph resigned as pastor of Grace Bible Church and Wil became the pastor, ministering there for 38 years. During this time of church ministry, he taught many Bible classes and had a counseling ministry. Wil retired from pastoring on May 19, 2019, after ministering the Word of God for 60 years. He was honored by his congregation as Pastor Emeritus of Grace Bible Church.
He passed into the loving arms of his Lord and Savior on April 30, 2022. He was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Claire, of Brookings, OR; daughter Janet Fix of Brookings; daughter Jamie Carpenter of Petersburg, Virginia; son Randall Winter (Stephanie) of Nooksack, Washington; sister Naomi Harris of Mesquite, TX; eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A Memorial Service honoring his life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 6, 2022, at Grace Bible Church, 302 North Hazel Street in Brookings. Those who wish to remember Wil in a special way may make donations to the Gideons International, P.O. Box 1387, Brookings, OR 97415.
