David Edmund Winkler, 67, died Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at the Bay Pines Veterans Healthcare Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.
He was born in Miford, Connecticut, the son of the late Egbert W. and Peggy Allen Winkler. He attended schools locally before enlisting in the Army during the Vietnam War.
Following his service to our country, David was employed as a chef for the Gunster Rehabilitation Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a facility that dedicates its efforts to asssist people of dependecy. David was a proud member of this community of individuals, having overcome his alchoholism for the past 33 years.
David moved to St. Petersburg in 1993 to care for his mother, and is survived by his two brothers: Norman, and wife Donna, of Hudson, Florida, and Egbert Eddie and wife Soon, of Evans, Georgia; three nieces and two nephews.
Private family services will be held on June 11, 2008.
Arrangements entrusted to Veterans Funeral Care, 15381 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, Florida 33760.
Dave and I met in 1999 when I moved to St. Pete. We saw each other almost daily til I moved to Jax in August 2005. He was the most humble and honest man I have known and his example was a model for others to follow. He accepeted the hardships in his life with grace and lived each day with gratitude. I was able to visit Dave at the VA on May 31 and I know he was ready for the next step in his journey. My condolences go out to Norm and Donna and all who knew Dave. He will be missed and remembered for a long time.
I worked wth Dave at our local dog track — Derby Lane — for several years. Everyone who worked with Dave thought a lot of him — friendly and a conscientious worker. We continued to think about him after he had to quit his job at Derby Lane. Up to the his last day at work, he continued to have an optimistic attitude about his medical problem.
We miss Dave. God bless him.