Larry Edward Van Winkle was born on June 17th, 1943 in Bristow, Indiana. His parents were Seddie Edward Van Winkle and Hettie Anne (Beard) Van Winkle. In 1944 the family came to Coos Bay, Oregon after Larry’s dad was drafted into the military. They returned to Indiana in about 1949 where they resided until 1955 or 1956. At that time, they returned to Oregon.
On February 7, 1965 Larry married Martha Ann Rogers in Gold Beach Oregon. Larry’s father Seddie Van Winkle performed the ceremony. Later they moved to Pillager, Minnesota where they built a home on some acreage. He worked at Madden’s Resort in Brainerd, Minnesota for 40 years as maintenance supervisor. He was sort of a jack of all trades and could handle most any situation. Martha passed away on November 23, 1996. A few years later Larry started spending winters in Oregon with his family and eventually purchased a home and became a resident of Oregon.
Larry was a talented artist. Many of us are blessed to have at least one of his beautiful works of art in our homes. Ducks Unlimited of Minnesota commissioned him to do paintings for them on a yearly basis.
He played guitar with a style all his own and wrote numerous songs through the years. He was friendly with a great sense of humor, always ready with a joke and loved to tell stories about the old days.
He is survived by his brother Lee (Elizabeth) Van Winkle and his twin sister Dona Lou (Doug) Scott and many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by sister Betty Jean Kraemer and Mary Ann Hutcheson. He will be greatly missed.