Lawrence Edwin Winters

Lawrence Edwin Winters, age 91 of La Grande, died Friday, September 2, 2005. At his request there will be no public services held. Arrangements are entrusted to Daniels Chapel of the Valley.



Lawrence Edwin Winters was born on April 28, 1914, the son of Wilborn and Ida Mae (Winchester) Winters in Salina, Kansas. As a child he traveled the United States with his father who was a railroad engineer. By the time Mr. Winters was 21 years old, he had visited every state in the Union. While in his twenties, Lawrence was a professional musician who played trombone with numerous dixieland jazz bands in the mid-west and the south. During World War II, Mr. Winters served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army and saw combat in the Pacific Theatre. While serving in the army, Lawrence was also a member of the U.S. Army band. Upon his honorable discharge he returned home and on June 12, 1946, married Dorothy Byrd in Vancouver, Washington. Together the couple moved to La Grande where Dorothy worked as the Dean of Women at Eastern Oregon College. Lawrence was employed with Mt. Emily Lumber Company and worked there until his retirement in 1975. He was one of the first presidents of the Grande Ronde Symphony and traveled throughout Europe with the symphony's "People to People" tours. He truly loved music and also enjoyed hunting, fishing, including annual fishing trips to the big lakes of Canada, and traveling, most recently to Egypt, Puerto Rico, and the Panama Canal.



Survivors include his sister-in-law, Nayda Wiseman of La Grande; niece, Nancy Adams of Beaverton; a nephew in Kansas, a nephew in Missouri, a niece in Colorado, and other relatives and friends. His parents, wife Dorothy Winters, four sisters, one brother, and his nephew, John Adams, all preceded him in death.



Those who wish may make contributions in memory of Lawrence Winters to the Grande Ronde Symphony in care of Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 7th Street, La Grande, Oregon 97850.