Daniel Winter Obituary

Daniel Patrick "Dan" Winter, 62, died February 3, 2021 at his home in the Chinatown neighborhood of Portland, OR, with his loving husband John Forsgren at his side. Dan was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease in December 2017.

Dan was born on August 13, 1958 in Ottawa, KS to Winton Allen "Wint" Winter and Nancy Mae (Morsbach) Winter. He is survived by his siblings Winton "Wint" Winter, Jr (Mary Boyd) of Lawrence, KS; Mary Winter-Stingley (Steve Stingley) of Denver, CO; Anne "CeCe" Winter of Leesburg, VA; and Adam Winter (Melissa Bell) of Denver, CO. He is also survived by his mother, Nancy of Olathe, KS. He was preceded in death by his father and two beloved nephews: Graham Stingley and Adam Winter, Jr.

In 1980, Dan earned his degree in journalism from the University of Kansas where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. While attending KU, he worked at the First National Bank in Lawrence and was active in his fraternity and on campus.

After doing post-graduate work at the KU School of Business, Dan joined the staff of the former Fourth National Bank of Wichita for two years before re-joining the First National Bank in Lawrence in 1982. He then joined Commerce Bank of Kansas City before moving to Peoples National Bank in 1988 where he stayed until 2008.

He and Wynne Wurster of Mission Hills, KS were married on New Year's Eve, 1983. Dan and Wynne lived in Fairway and Mission Hills, KS before moving to Kansas City, MO where they raised their three children who survive: Thomas "Tom" Winter, of Missoula, MT; John "Jack" Winter, of Portland, OR; and, Lee Winter, of Missoula, MT. Dan and Wynn enjoyed a close and mutually supportive relationship until his death despite divorcing in 2008.

After leaving banking, Dan became the Executive Director of what was then the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri. In 2012, Dan moved to Portland, but maintained close ties to Kansas City. Missoula was a favorite destination, as well. John and Dan enjoyed the many visits to their home by friends and family from KC and across the US.

Public service, mostly as a volunteer, was a driving source of Dan's adult life. After leading the ACLU in KC, he joined the board of the ACLU of Oregon and, later, was a member of the ACLU National Board of Directors. In Portland, he was also the co-founder of the Art Task Force of Central City Concern. Dan also served as the Treasurer of what is now known as Planned Parenthood Great Plains, and worked on the boards of The Mid-American ALS Association, the Economic Development Board of KCMO, The Women's Center of UMKC, among others. He was a crusader for LGBT rights, the rights of immigrants and refugees, the separation of church and state and women's rights.

In addition, he supported non-profit efforts to create and expand opportunities for young, mostly urban, Kansas City boys, to access competitive basketball as co-founder and co-manager, with Wynne, of The Kansas City Magic basketball team. In Portland, he and John were volunteer story-tellers for CompassionandChoices.org. Dan and John sometimes addressed groups in order to promote the end-of-life programs of Compassion and Choices.

Celebrations of Dan's life will occur in Portland and in Kansas City at a later date due to covid. Please consider donations to CompassionandChoices.org in Dan's name. To read the full obituary, as written by Dan, and for additional information go here: https://facebook.com/groups/167272458313217