Ralph Albert Winnecke

Ralph Albert Winnecke, whose joy and contagious affability exemplified Evansville’s best spirit, passed away on Friday, June 7 at Heritage Center. He was 89. Father of Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, Ralph was born to Julius and Wilhelmina (Belo) Winnecke, the children of German immigrants. Ralph was a proud West Sider who loved golf, the Cubs and a fried bologna sandwich now and then. Ralph died from complications related to diabetes. To the end, he retained his characteristic warmth and sense of humor, always ready with a joke and a hearty laugh to cheer his many friends, family members and all he encountered. Ralph grew up on Lemcke Avenue and graduated from Reitz High School in 1948. In 1951, he enlisted in the Air Force, traveling to Morocco during the Korean War where he served as a security officer with his trusty German shepherd Dido. Upon his return to Evansville in 1955, he began a long and happy career at Mead Johnson & Co., working in the labs testing drugs under development and rising to help lead the animal testing division. He loved his work and rarely missed a day. At a staff bowling outing one weekend, Ralph was introduced to a co-worker whose birthday happened to be the same as his. He and Shirley Ann Fink cherished 55 years of marriage, celebrating many Feb. 10 birthdays and sharing the rest of life’s milestones until her death in 2015. Ralph adored Shirley and often said that she was the smartest person he ever met. Ralph and Shirley raised three children––Lloyd, Joycelyn and Lisa––of whom they were immensely proud. Devoted to both his family and his work, Ralph passed on to his kids his rigorous work ethic and an innate sense of duty to those around him. He glowed with happiness whenever he shared their triumphs and accomplishments. And Ralph loved Winky Winnecke, the family dog -- so much in fact that Winky went to Dairy Queen each year on his birthday for a cup of vanilla soft serve. Ralph was in the sixth grade when he got his first job, as a caddy at Helfrich Golf Course just up the street from home. “Did you know much about golf?’’, his granddaughter asked recently. “Only that you had clubs and you swung to hit a ball,” he responded jovially. That job was the beginning of Ralph’s lifelong passion for a game he mastered, scoring three holes-in-one over the years and forever displaying the trophies to prove it. After retiring from Mead Johnson, Ralph spent two decades “working’’ at Clearcrest Country Club. He was secretary of his bowling league and president of the softball league, collecting friends and good stories at every turn. Ralph’s two favorite spectator sports were the Chicago Cubs and Evansville government and politics. It was a Cubs jersey one day and a Winnecke for Mayor T-shirt the next -- except during election season when it was all politics all the time. Ralph did not shy from asking the dedicated nurses and aides at Heritage Center if they were voting for his son. Ralph and Shirley were vital members of First Presbyterian Church, never missing Sunday morning services and the Bible Bunch class. Ralph filled just about every role there -- deacon, elder, Sunday school superintendent, usher, taking collection, serving communion, delivering flowers –– you name it, Ralph would step up to to it. Ralph was a beloved member of many communities––he couldn’t help but collect new friends everywhere he went. He exuded a magnetic geniality that appealed to anyone and everyone, touching countless lives in ways large and small. Ralph is survived by his three children, Lloyd Winnecke (Carol McClintock), Joycelyn Winnecke of Chicago, and Lisa Winnecke of Denver, Colo.; brother Robert Winnecke (Mary); grandchildren, Danielle Feagley (Stephen) of Tucson, Ariz., Grace Adee of Chicago, and Anna Rose Winnecke of Denver; great-grandsons, Holden and Oliver Feagley of Tucson; and many nieces and nephews. In celebration of Ralph’s life, visitation will be 3 to 7 p.m. on Monday at Pierre Funeral Home, 2601 W. Franklin St. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church, 609 SE Second St., with visitation preceding at 10. Services will be followed by interment at Park Lawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Dan Scism Golf Scholarship Award or First Presbyterian Church. His family gratefully acknowledges, in particular, the nurses, aides and hospice care-givers at the Heritage Center.

Ralph Albert Winnecke

February 10, 1930 - June 7, 2019