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Obituary

Doctor engaged in civic, philanthropic duties dies at age 85

Walter Henry Winchester of Dunedin did more than practice medicine, serving in the military and even testifying before Congress.

By BETSY BOLGER-PAULET
Published April 29, 2005

Walter Henry Winchester, who came to Dunedin at the age of 5 when his father became the town's first doctor, died Tuesday (April 26, 2005) at Manor Care Dunedin nursing home. He was 85. Following in his father's steps, he practiced medicine for more than four decades out of the same home office in Dunedin that his father used.

In 1983, he testified before Congress on the problems of drug and alcohol abuse among the elderly.

Marvin Gerhart, a retired local hardware store owner and friend for close to six decades, said that Dr. Winchester passed away quietly after an illness of only two months.

He was born Dec. 8, 1919, in Bismarck, N.D., and moved to Dunedin in 1924 when his father, Dr. Harold E. Winchester, closed his family practice in Hazleton, N.D., a small town southeast of Bismarck, to become Dunedin's only physician.

His mother, Margaret Howell Winchester, loved gardening on their property which made up much of the south side of the 200 block of Scotland Street. She was fondly remembered in the St. Petersburg Times by Barbara Preble Spindler of Palm Harbor in a Letter to the Editor published June 11, 1993:

"In 1958 many amateur artists painted in Dunedin in a red brick schoolhouse. . . . Among the student painters was Mrs. (Margaret Howell) Winchester, mother of Dunedin's well-known Dr. Walter Winchester. It was Mrs. Winchester who told us that if every person in class would plant a jacaranda seed, we eventually would have a town of Dunedin filled with glorious lavender trees . . . all of this happened 35 years ago . . . we planted these seeds not only in Dunedin but in Clearwater and elsewhere. Every spring I say a silent prayer of gratefulness for the caring Mrs. Winchester and all who planted the seeds."

Dr. Harold Winchester maintained his office, as his son did later, out of one of the family's homes on Scotland Street. Their properties sat next to the famous Octagonal House built in 1900 by former Dunedin Mayor Walter Bull, which was later purchased by the doctor.

This historical building, the first in Dunedin to be constructed of masonry blocks, made on the premises, and with exposed beams of rare curly pine, was purchased by Dr. Winchester in 1965 from the estate of watchmaker Albert Goss and sold last year to a private family for close to half a million dollars. Dr. Walter Winchester was named after his grandfather, who had been a sheriff, a county lawyer and a circuit judge for more than 25 years in the mid 1800s in what was then Dakota territory. Prior to the Battle of the Little Big Horn, he rode with Gen. George Custer. Later he served as the superintendent of education in Bismarck. He established the Winchester Education Award which continued to be administered by his grandson up until 10 years ago.

Dr. Winchester graduated in 1937 from Clearwater High School. He graduated in 1941 from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and earned his doctorate in 1944 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City. He did his internship at Ancker Hospital in St. Paul, Minn.

During summer break while in college, the young medical student worked at Yellowstone Park, where his official job was to be "in charge of the chase-the-bears-out-of-camp detail."

After medical school and internship, Dr. Winchester enlisted in the Naval Reserve, with the rank of lieutenant junior grade. He served first at the Seattle naval base and later went to Okinawa with the Seabees before returning to Dunedin to work with his father, who died in the mid 1950s.

In 1953 during the Korean War, he was recalled to active duty and served 18 months in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea with Destroyer Squadron 8, based out of Newport, R.I.

After he returned to Dunedin and resumed his medical practice, Dr. Winchester maintained his active reserve status with the local amphibious battalion of the Marine Corps. Dr. Winchester became a member of the Pinellas County Medical Society in 1961, where he served on both the judicial council and the board of governors. He was a member of the Morton Plant medical staff for many years and served as chief of staff from 1964-1965.

He was a member of the American Cancer Society and the Florida Arthritis Foundation for more than three decades. He testified before Congress while participating in the White House Conference on Aging and Health in 1983.

Dr. Winchester served more than a decade on the Dunedin planning and zoning board and was chairman for his last two years.

He was a member for more than 70 years at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. In 1948 he joined the Rotary Club of Dunedin, where he served as secretary and treasurer and was president in 1955. He was a Paul Harris Fellow and was honored for perfect attendance since 1960.

Following also in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, Dr. Winchester was active in Masonic organizations. In 1946, he joined Dunedin Masonic Lodge 192, serving as master in 1957 and as district deputy grand master in 1979. He joined the York Rite and became a Royal Arch Mason in 1959, serving as high priest of Clearwater Chapter 45 R.A.M., and later as district deputy grand high priest of the third district. In 1971 he was elected grand high priest of the Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons (R.A.M.) of Florida.

In 1972, he was appointed southeastern regional deputy for R.A.M. International, and in 1984, after serving more than 12 years with the grand chapter, he was elected grand high priest at the group's meeting in New Orleans.

The election forced him to close his local practice, but he continued his medical work through the R.A.M.'s philanthropic program Royal Arch Research Assistance, which supports research in the field of audio perception disease.

In this capacity, he traveled extensively throughout the United States, South America, Italy, Spain, England, Germany, the Philippines, Guam, Taiwan and Japan. In 1987, he was honored for his efforts at the R.A.M. International triennial convention in Orlando, when he was named ambassador for the state of Florida.

In 1994, he was presented a History Maker Award by the Dunedin Historical Society and lauded for providing free eye examinations through the Knights Templar Eye Foundation. He was also a member of Friends of the Dunedin and Schiller International University libraries.

His hobbies included photography, woodworking, gardening and theater. According to his friend, Gerhart, the doctor had an extensive collection of play scripts, which he donated to a local college.

Survivors include four cousins, Harold and Christopher Hughes, both of California, Eleanor Karsten, Yonkers N.Y., and Edward Howell, Delmar, N.Y.

Visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. Saturday at Moss-Feaster Funeral Home, 1320 Main St., Dunedin, with funeral services at 3:30 p.m. at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 639 Edgewater Drive. Masonic services will follow at Dunedin Cemetery.

Information from the Dunedin Historical Society was used in this report.

[Last modified April 29, 2005, 00:34:18]