­­Edward Herman Winter 87 passed away on December 29 at Alden Debes Center.  He was born on October 7, 1936 in Bronx, New York, the son of Louis and Elsie (Tauck) Winter.  He attended Marengo High School, then after graduating he joined the Navy for four years (1953 to 1957).  He was stationed on the Shangri-La CVS39 and the Oriskany CV34 aircraft carriers.  Returning from the Navy, he attended Bradley University in Peoria, IL with a degree in mechanical engineering.  He worked at Letourneau Westinghouse in Peoria where he met his wife Judy (Bockler) Winter.  They were married July 23, 1966 and celebrated their 57th anniversary last year.   They moved to Belvidere, IL in 1970 where he worked for Borg Warner and owned and operated the Family Car Wash for 50 years. He was a volunteer fireman in Boone County Fire District 2.  Ed and Judy also owned the House of Bottles for over 20 years, then they later built Winter Plaza.

Ed is survived by his wife Judy, son Troy Winter, daughter in law Lisa, daughter Sharon Mitchell, son in law Ray and two grandsons – Aaron and Alex. He is also survived by his sister – Ilsa (Winter) Dittrich who has 5 children and several nieces and nephews.  All will miss him.

Ed was a hard worker and known for his kindness, German stubbornness and a sense of humor.  He enjoyed attending annual Navy reunions, vacationing in Florida and celebrating at Oktoberfests.

There will be no visitation and the funeral will be private.  Burial will be at Highland Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the American Diabetes Association in his name.