Mary Winton's Obituary
Mary Winton, pillar in the horticultural community, died Sunday just six days after celebrating her 99th birthday on Oct. 24. Winton was born in Hopkins County, Ky and graduated from Nashville General Hospital Nursing School in 1946. Her first nursing position was at the old Kennedy Veterans Hospital in Memphis, where she met her husband Van Winton, a World War II veteran who was recovering from a gun shot wound in the back that left him a paraplegic. To better care for her husband, Mary gave up her job as a surgical nurse and became a private duty nurse helping numerous patients including children afflicted with polio, a disease she had recovered from. For more than 30 years, Mary taught and mentored many students in the art of Japanese flower arranging. After earning her masters certification in floral design in Japan, Winton founded the Ichyo School of Ikebana in Memphis. She was also adept at western-style flower arranging and became a master judge of flower show competitions. In recent years, Winton distributed her sizable collection of containers and other floral supplies to fellow flower arrangers and friends. Over her life, she was a member of numerous plant societies including the Memphis Fern Society; American Holly Society, Memphis Horticultural Society as well as several garden local clubs: Kennedy View, Designing Women and Ikebana International Bamboo Chapter. She and fellow members of the old Merry Weeders garden club planted some of the first bulbs on Daffodil Hill at the Memphis Botanic Garden. A lifelong member of Mullins United Methodist Church, Winton was an avid student of anything that interested her and taught lessons and gave programs on a wide variety of topics including hat making (millinery). Her parents, Robert and Ruth Hancock Barnett and her husband, preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister, Shirley Barnett Fallin of Madisonville, Ky; her sister-in-law Margie Winton of Tucson, Az. and nieces Patti Fallin and Nancy Winton and nephews John (Skip) Fallin and Carl Winton. Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 2, at Mullins United Methodist Church with a gathering following the funeral for friends. Mrs. Winton will be buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis.Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave., Memphis TN 38119. (901) 767-8930. “Celebrating Life….Behind the Stone Wall.”
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