February 6, 1930- April 17, 2012 Maye Winter, loving wife and mother, sister and dear friend to so many, passed away suddenly Tuesday evening at Redwood Memorial Hospital. Maye was born, Ella Mae Eckles, on February 6, 1930 in San Francisco, California and spent her early childhood in the Central Valley and Redding, California. She spent her teenage years living with her grandparents in Rio Dell, graduating from Fortuna Union High School in 1948. She worked as a waitress and Candy Striper at the Hospital in Scotia. She became pen pals with a coworker’s brother in the Army–Edward Winter. Edward came to visit from Ft. Ord later that year and not long afterwards, they decided to get married. Maye was a skinny waif at 5’2″ and Edward was a strapping 6’5″-quite a memorable pair! Their marriage was a strong, happy and devoted partnership of 60 years that lasted until Edward’s passing on December 26, 2009. Together they were foster parents to more than a dozen children, before they were able to adopt two sons, Patrick and Scott. As Maye and Edward made their home in Rio Dell, their house was home to numerous pets, including bum lambs, goats, chickens, ducks, cats, working and hunting dogs, and even a horse. While Edward proved to be a very skilled tradesman and sawfiler at Pacific Lumber Company in Scotia, Maye was an excellent homemaker and seamstress, becoming well-known for her stuffed animals, often bought by friends for daughters away in college. Maye was also a weekly columnist for the Humboldt Beacon, authoring the Rio Dell news column for a number of years. Maye volunteered for many community concerns in Rio Dell, including Friends of the Library and the Wildwood Days parades, where she once dressed up as Raggedy Ann and rode her tricycle. In their 40s and 50s, Maye and Edward were avid motorcyclists, riding Dad’s Gold Wing across country with friends. She always kept active to the end, and was able to visit her brother Arthur Case in Santa Cruz just last month. Maye was preceded in death by her son, James Scott Winter in 1995, and her husband, Edward in 2009. She is survived by her son Patrick Winter and daughter-in-law Bess Winter, of Saginaw, Michigan; her brother Arthur Case of La Selva Beach, California; cousin Betty Barboni of Petaluma, California; granddaughters Rachael Winter of Portland, Oregon and Annie Sue Winter of Fargo, North Dakota. Her family would like to extend their special thanks to her close friends, Fayrene Peters from Stafford; Lorraine and Les Miranda, Donna and Rosella Hoffer, Elsie and Maggie Todd, Mike and Barb Crosbie; all her friends from TOPS and the Seniors Club (all from Rio Dell); Bill and Hattie McBride of Bear River, California; and Betty and Margaret Fulton of Eureka, California. Their love and support over the years and following Dad’s passing was a comfort to her family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Miranda’s Animal Rescue in Fortuna, California. Edward James Winter November 11, 1928- December 26, 2009 Edward J. Winter was born on November 11, 1928 in Yuba City, California. Dad passed away at home, in the presence of his wife, Maye and son Patrick on December 26, 2009 after a brief battle with esophageal cancer. Growing up in Live Oak, California during the Great Depression, Edward was the oldest of seven brothers and sisters, and worked the produce fields in the Central Valley to help support his family while still attending school. He joined the Army in 1948 and served at Ft. Ord as a gunsmith and rangemaster. Dad’s prowess as a rifleman and handgun marksman was undisputed. Following his discharge from the Army, he married Ella Mae Eckles in 1949. Their strong devotion to one another was evident to their sons and friends. We can’t recall a single argument or raised voice between them. As big and tough as Dad was, he was always gentle and protective of Mom. He always said he got the better end of the deal between them. Edward moved up to Humboldt County to marry mom and quickly got a job on the Forest Home Ranch, working for Joseph Russ and family. He later got a job with the Pacific Lumber Company, felling trees and eventually becoming a sawfiler. He was able to continue his association with the Russ family and the Forest Home Ranch foreman, Ned Gibbs, working on weekends to help around the ranch-something that offered him time to enjoy the outdoors with his sons Patrick and Scott. Dad was an excellent shot and built a number of custom hunting rifles and taught his sons and friends to hand-load ammo for their firearms. As a NRA Certified Instructor, he was a strong advocate of the Second Amendment and proponent of a citizen’s responsibility for the safe handling of firearms. In addition to his gunsmithing hobby, he built custom knives and cutlery and fashioned a number of tools from raw materials. He also ran a saw sharpening business for many years at home, sharpening blades and saws overnight for many construction crews that rebuilt a number of the bridges on the Eel River. Following the Eel River flood in 1964, Rio Dell became an incorporated city and Dad was offered the position of Director of Public Works, which he accepted. Dad served as Director, working alongside his staff to maintain the Water and Sewer Systems and Sewer Plant, and also performed patch work of the city streets. He worked for the City for seven years, before returning to work as a sawfiler for Pacific Lumber Company, which Dad retired from in the 1980s. Dad kept busy following retirement, spending many days every week up on Forest Home Ranch and Bill McBride’s Bear River Ranch, clearing trails and operating heavy equipment well into his late 70s. Dad loved to work and enjoy the outdoors, and was his happiest up on Bear River. Dad’s love and devotion to Maye was a strong testimony of their mutual love and respect. Together, they made a home for many foster kids and their adopted sons Patrick and Scott. Dad’s example as a husband, father and friend meant so much to his sons. He left a great legacy of integrity and friendship to emulate. Dad was preceded in death by his son Scott. He was survived by the great love of his life, wife Maye, and his son Patrick, daughter in-law Bess, and granddaughters Rachael and Annie Sue. His friendship over the years with Ned & Marie Gibbs; Charlie & Maureen Brownell; GW & Sammy Finley; Bill & Hattie McBride; the Joseph Russ family, made our family’s lives so much the richer. We are so grateful for everyone’s friendship and support over the many years. Please sign the guest book at www.Times-Standard.com, click obits.
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