William Stanley Winterton

William (Bill) Stanley Winterton, 84, passed away on the 10th of October 2022 at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, California.

Bill was born in Quintard Hospital in San Diego, California. He was a life-long resident of San Diego County and a long-time resident of Julian and Alpine.

He attended Spencer Valley and then Julian Elementary School. Bill was a member of the Julian Union High School graduating class of 1955. He participated in Hi-Y Club,  A.S.B., and enjoyed photography, swimming, and Pepsi-Cola.

Bill entered Army Basic training at the age of 17 at Fort Knox, Kentucky in July of 1955.  He was assigned as a tanker to the 3rd Armored Division, which then moved to West Germany- serving in multiple units during the Cold War between 1955-1958 and 1961-1964. Bill was a part of Company A 83rd Recon Battalion, Troop A 3rd Recon 12th Calvary, Company A 2nd Medium Tank Battalion 13th Calvary, and Company A 2nd Medium Tank Battalion 32rd Armor. He served as a Crewman in an M41 Walker Bulldog tank and concluded his tour in Germany as a Tank Commander in an M60 A1 tank.

He was posted to Frankfurt, Büdingen, Wetzlar, Bad Nauheim and Butzbach, West Germany. 

Bill met Maria Schwarz in Frankfurt and in 1958 they were married in the medieval walled town of Büdingen, West Germany. They remained married for 64 years until his death.

Many may remember Bill as the local water meter man for the Julian Water Company between Army tours.

Bill returned to San Diego County traveling with his young family from Hamburg, Germany to New York via the Atlantic Ocean on the USS Upshir. Departing from the Port of New York, they drove in his new Rambler station wagon across the country to the home of his parents in Julian.

In 1965, he worked at a Mobile Service Station in Lemon Grove that he co-owned with his father. After moving back to the Pine Hills area of Julian in 1966, he resumed working for the Julian Water District. Bill continued on to a career of over 30 years with the San Diego County Road Department. He was employed as an equipment operator at the Julian Road Station and as a road crew foreman at the Alpine Road Station.

Bill continued to serve our county in the Army Reserve and retired from the military on June 29, 1998 as a 1st Sergeant in a National Guard Armored Infantry Unit in Kearny Mesa.

He was known as a soft spoken man of few words. Bill was hard working- always ready to help and to share his knowledge.

Bill inherited a green thumb from his father and enjoyed working in the outdoors. He also enjoyed a variety of building projects. One of his first paid jobs was remodeling a home in Julian at the age of 12. On occasion, Bill used his talent of water witching- also passed down to him by his father. In later years, he spent time between Alpine and Julian, but Julian was the place he truly felt at home and wanted to spend his retirement years. Bill was happiest when he was busy. He enjoyed many projects at his homes and at the home of his youngest son in Wynola.

Bill was proceeded in death by his parents William T. and Ruth (Hemmerly) Winterton, brothers Robert, Raymond, and David.

He is survived by his wife Maria (Schwarz) Winterton of Alpine and Julian, son Arno of Julian, daughter Monica of Florence, Oregon and son Michael of Wynola, granddaughter Sheryll Loftin, grandsons Alec and Erik Winterton, sister in-law Helen Winterton of Alpine, sister in-law Scarlett Winterton of Waco, Texas and brother and sister in-law Ludwig and Renate Schwarz of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Internment:  Tuesday October 18th 9:15 a.m. Miramar National Cemetery, San Diego, California

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