William Winkelman

William "Bill" Winkelman age 84 of Charles City, Iowa died peacefully on Saturday, September 19, 2020, at the New Hampton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Private family graveside services will be held 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 23, 2020, at Riverside Cemetery, Charles City with Rev. Paul Pickar presiding. Please join the family live at the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home Facebook page. Corey Schmadeke, Brian Schmadeke, Luke Pickar, Jared Johnson, Becca Pickar, Samantha Flugge and Jayda Winkelman will serve as pallbearers. Jesse Johnson is an honorary pallbearer. The family request that no flowers are to be sent at this time. Bill was born June 2, 1936, in Fredericksburg, IA, the son of William (Bill) H. and Ethel (Whitnable) Winkelman. He attended Otto Country School through the eighth grade before going to work at a creamery in Nashua. Over the years, he took other jobs before landing at White Farm Equipment. One night, Lois Trask’s cousin set Bill up on a date with Lois to a free show that was held in Ionia, and it was a perfect matchup, one made in Heaven, if you will. The two began dating, fell in love, and on Aug. 30, 1956, the couple was married at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. Bill always said he had the “best wife,” and the family grew to include five children — Kathy, Sandy, Janet, Brenda and Bruce — and the Winkelman kids remember growing up in a home with a dad who understood the value of hard work, the importance of being kind to everyone and that family always came first. The Winkelmans lived north of Bassett for nine years, and Bill and Lois then moved five miles west of New Hampton, where they farmed and raised beef cattle while he continued to work at Oliver/White Farm until the plant closed in 1993. He had worked at John Deere for a short time before accepting the position at Oliver. The family has great memories of Bill taking them on fishing trips to Waterville, Minnesota, and Bill loved to play cards and marbles, dancing with Lois and working in his garden. He loved taking Lois to the Clay County Fair in Spencer. He was a great father, but he was an even more amazing grandfather. Bill and Lois rarely, if ever, missed their grandchildren’s sporting and school events. Bill was soft-spoken, yet he never, ever met a stranger, and throughout his long, productive life, he always put his family first. Some of the Winkelman children’s favorite memories of Dad are the simple ones, like finishing a day of rock picking and saving the flattest ones to watch the best rock skipper in the world to do his thing. In 2016, the love of Bill’s life passed away, and although he missed Lois dearly, he could still brighten up any room, any gathering with that Bill Winkelman smile. He was a longtime member of the United Church of Christ in Ionia. His children, his grandchildren, his “greats,” his friends and those “non-strangers” will miss his good-natured smile and the love he showed everyone, but they are comforted knowing that he’s reunited with Lois and know that today, they are dancing together in heaven. Bill is survived by four daughters, Kathy (Steve) Otto of Charles City, Sandy (Steve) Schmadeke of Clarksville, IA, Janet (Paul) Pickar of Riceville, IA, Brenda (Matt Beckman) Flugge of New Hampton; one son, Bruce (Kay) Winkelman of Charles City; twelve grandchildren, Corey Schmadeke, Brian Schmadeke, Luke Pickar, Jared Johnson, Becca Pickar, Samantha Flugge, Jayda Winkelman, Paul Otto, Ashley Gracia, Zach Eckheart, Jacob Beckman, and Tyler Beckman. 15 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Lois in 2016, a grandson, Jesse Johnson in 2015; two sisters, Valeda Lines and Lucille Carroll; one brother, Robert Winkelman.