Katherine G. (Garthe) Winchell

A memorial service for Katherine (Kay) Garthe Winchell will be held at St. Paul's United Methodist Church on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 1 p.m. Kay passed away while in hospice at Pinecrest Village in Mackinaw City on January 17, 2019.
Born August 4, 1924 in Petoskey, she attended high school in Traverse City and subsequently Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. After returning home to Traverse City, she met Harold Winchell and the two married on July 31, 1948. They celebrated their 70th anniversary with their children and grandchildren at their home on the Straits last summer.
Kay worked as a church secretary first at Central United Methodist in Traverse City, and then for many years at St. Paul's in Cheboygan where she also was an active member of many church committees and a member of the Handbell Choir.
Kay loved the outdoors, the lakes, quilting and gardening and their home was always alive with color. She was also an avid reader and a regular at both the Cheboygan and Mackinaw City libraries. Her biggest love was music; singing, playing piano, and she played violin in the Northland Players Orchestras for 20 years.
She is survived by her husband, Harold who resides at Pinecrest Village in Mackinaw City, two sons: John, Archives Curator at Western Michigan University; Rob, a Surgical RN in Las Vegas, NV; four grandchildren, Kaleigh James and Kelci Winchell of Traverse City, and Colin Winchell and Emma Winchell of Kalamazoo; and a brother, Laurence Garthe of Burtonsville, MD.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to Hospice of the Straits.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Katherine G. (Garthe) Winchell, please visit our floral store.