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Winchell, William Arthur

October 11, 1937 –
 October 23, 2019

Obituary

  Obituary for William Arthur Winchell who died peacefully October 23, 2019 with his wife Janice at his side.   William Arthur Winchell was born at Copley hospital in Aurora, Illinois, on October 11, 1937. He attended Mary A. Todd grade school, and was in the first class to start at Aurora West High school where he was a guard on the Football team. He attended Michigan State University on a wrestling scholarship and was a proud member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity at MSU! His father attended Michigan University, but we are all staunch MSU fans now! Bill’s mother, Clara, raised him after his father died from a football injury suffered at Michigan University. Bill was only 4 when his father died, but he had great support from the Milton Weil’s who owned a shop in Aurora, where his mother worked as a bookkeeper. His cousins, Rita Falkos and Mavis Bore, were like sisters and provided some sibling rivalry when necessary!   Bill’s first roommate at Michigan State was Rich Peterson, and his two best friends from Aurora, Charles Boudreau and Dean Hamingson remain his best friends still. He was lucky to have wonderful fraternity brothers including Palmer Pyle, Howie Richardson, Roger Rowe, and high school friends that lasted all these years. Nothing can beat having good friends that LAST! Bill was in ROTC in college, and joined the army Transportation Corps upon graduation. He was the port officer in Southampton supporting the US Army arrivals, and then he went to helicopter school in Weatherford Texas and was then sent to Vietnam from 1964-1967. He started out (of course) as a 2nd Lieutenant, and achieved the rank of Captain, which meant he was always “extended” in Vietnam, as Helicopter Pilots did not survive all that long. Out of his flight class of 26, only 2 returned alive. He flew dust-off missions, which meant he came in “hot”, and picked up the wounded and got them back to a medical facility. Very dangerous work! On one mission, the young man he picked up asked if Bill could get the song “Danny Boy” on his radio. He did…the young man died before they reached the medical clinic, and to this day neither Bill nor Janice can listen to that song!   Bill was awarded the Bronze Star for valor for one of his missions in Vietnam. He LOVED the ARMY! The order of it suited his orderly personality! He rarely talked about his time in Vietnam, did talk one time about getting shot down (over Laos) and having to capture the guard at the border to get back to Vietnam and some semblance of safety. When he finally made the rank of Major, he could leave the army, which he did in pretty short order. He has the WHGARA award for this (Who gives a Rat’s ….the plaque is on the wall in the bar at their house) when he was leaving!   Bill joined IBM in 1967 and met his wife Janice at IBM training class CST in Minneapolis. Their 51 year marriage has been a wonderful partnership, with both Bill and Janice being “type A” personalities this presented some interesting times.  BUT THEY WERE ALWAYS ABLE TO WORK THINGS OUT! Bill was the country manager for Hitachi Data Systems in Germany from 1987-1990, which worked out great for both Bill and Janice (who was a German and music major in college). Lots of wonderful travel while living in Frankfurt, Germany. Bill taught his son Jimmy to waterski, by first having him try the skis in the pool, and pulling Jim to “get the feel of the skis” before trying them at Lake Lewisville. It worked REALLY WELL – Jim is, to this day, an excellent water and snow skier! Jim and Bill had a wonderful and loving relationship, and Jim was so sweet to his Dad, even though Bill was not his “biological” father, Bil adopted Jim and the day he was adopted, they found a $20.00 bill on the ground – pretty good sign! Loving travel, Bill, Janice and Jim did many trips together including a memorable trip to Israel. Janice & Bill traveled to many locations especially to Europe to visit WWII sites…don’t think we missed many – and wouldn’t trade any of our times for anything!   Gonna miss my partner, as TEAM WINCHELL is now reduced to just 1 – Janice…Bill has been a stunning partner, friend, and goto kind of guy and both Jim and Janice will miss him, but know he is in a better place now – and at peace!.   We do not have a memorial service planned – if you wish to honor Bill, hold your loved ones close, tell them you love them often and rejoice in the times you have together!   We will have Bill cremated and then interred in the DFW National Cemetery south of Dallas.  

Arrangements under the direction of:

Aria Cremation Service and Funeral Home

19310 Preston Road

Dallas, Texas 75252

(214) 306-6700

    Gina (Falkos) Lennon
    3 Nov 2019
    2:47pm

    Cousin Billy as mom (Rita Falkos) called him and it stuck. Will be truly missed. We loved him and I know mom and Dad (Nick) loved all the trips they took. And the day we gave dad back his 64 El Camino, will be remembered by all.
    Love you Cousin Billy, and Janice
    You will be missed

    Brian Marlier
    9 Jan 2020
    2:29am

    I worked with Bill at Hitachi. I still have a piece of the Berlin walled framed on my wall. Bill was proud to have made the trip, observing the fall of the wall. He chiseled a few pieces for family and friends. I have many fond memories Bill. A few good ones which to this day still make me smile. He will be missed.

    Dr. Alfred Simmet
    13 Feb 2020
    5:43am

    Bill was my direct supervisor during his time at Hitachi Data Systems in Germany and we had a wonderful personal relationship. I also got to know his wife, who spoke German. By chance I found out while searching for a name that Bill died in 2019 and I often think of him.

    Brady
    1 Feb 2023
    3:33pm

    Anyone who is related to William Arthur Winchell, I have possession of his Lufthansa Frequent Traveller Luggage Tag that I found on the ground, and if you want it, please call me at 682-559-0159 or email me at brady.byrum@outlook.com with whatever address you want to give me and I will mail it to you at no cost.

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Testimonials

R. Driver
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"Excellent customer service, they made you feel like you were their only customer. Very helpful and explained what we should expect during the process. They basically took care of our needs during this time. They contacted DFW National Cemetery for us which made it a smooth experience. Definitely will use them again."
K. Barker
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"I was amazed how professional the team at Aria Funeral Preston Dallas Texas are. They guided me through the process and my options of their services that they offered for my mother. They are compassionate, caring, calm, good listener, efficient and did an excellent job! Thank you!"
R. Woll
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"If I could give 6 stars I would. Aria made a difficult easier to deal with by basically taking care of everything in an efficient but very empathetic manner. I can speak highly enough of Dusty Martin, who helped us with all of the planning and logistics. He was incredibly understanding and helpful."
Angel M.
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"Nothing prepares you for the grief you go through when losing a child. I called this funeral home at 2:00 am broken and could barely talk. The amount of compassion and empathy they showed me immediately let me know I found the right place to cremate my son. I cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, SINCERE concern, and commitment to making sure my son was honored in the most respectful way. I hope this Funeral home values her as much as my family and I do."
McGee Family
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"Wayne and Staff, thank you for taking care of the arrangements for our mom, Exter McGee and our dad, Philip McGee. You have been great to work with during such a difficult time."
Elledge Family
Elledge Family
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"On behalf of my family, I wanted you to know how much we appreciate your handling of my husband's final arrangements. Wayne Baxter assisted & guided us through the entire process with such care & compassion. Don't know what we would have done without him! Sincerely, Colleen Elledge"
The Peterson Family
The Peterson FamilyYelp! Review - Northwest Highway 5-Stars
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"I can’t say enough about how helpful and professional Dusty Martin, the funeral director at the Aria Cremation location on NW Highway has been. From my initial call, he was kind and informative. My friend died at home while on hospice and she was picked up in about an hour after receiving the call from the hospice nurse. The person who arrived to pick her up was also very professional/respectful and allowed us to take as much time with her as we wished. When I met with Dusty the next day about arrangements, he explained the process and options available without being pushy or trying to “sell” extras. Throughout the process, he kept me informed and, for example, was careful to be certain I understood the cost of the obituary I wanted and offered some options for reducing that cost if I wished. When I stopped by for another reason and started talking about some of the problems I was having with the pictures and media I hoped to use at a memorial lunch I was planning, he not only listened patiently but offered technology advice and let me use his personal media player. I have had experience arranging cremations for four others using two other local companies, and this experience with Dusty at Aria has been by far the best one I have had."
Paula Barnes
Paula BarnesGoogle Review
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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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  1. If death has occurred and or is imminent, please call the Aria location nearest you.

    PRESTON ROAD
    214.306.6700

    NORTHWEST HIGHWAY
    214.340.8008

    BELTLINE ROAD
    972.607.4400

  2. Click here to Download the Cremation Forms.
  3. Have the cremation authorization form notarized
  4. Fax the forms back to us at:
    • NW Highway
      214-340-8009
    • Preston Rd.
      972-526-7410
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      972-573-1008
 

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