OTTAWA — Long-time Ottawa community leader and banker Wint Winter has died. Winter, 82, died Saturday at Lawrence Memorial Hospital of complications from Alzheimers disease. After graduating from the University of Kansas, he served in Korea in the U.S. Marine Corps, reaching the rank of Captain. After the war, he sold cars for Ship Winter Chevrolet and attended KU law school on the GI Bill. In 1958, he joined the law office of Basil W. Kelsey and soon became the youngest judge in Kansas history. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Winter operated ranches in the Flint Hills east of Junction City and, later, near Williamsburg and was an early promoter of the Simmental breed of cattle in America. He also had interests in real estate, nursery production, oil production, restaurants and community banking in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Mississippi, Nebraska and other states. During the 1970’s and 80’s, he co-owned one of the largest Pizza Hut franchises in the United States. He later became chairman of Peoples, Inc, which initially operated Peoples National Bank of Ottawa but grew into a multi-state, community banking business. He was elected to the Kansas Senate in 1968, serving Franklin, Douglas, Anderson, Osage and Miami counties until 1980. He chaired both the Judiciary Committee and the Ways and Means Committee, from which he championed Kansas’ investment in higher education. Cremation is planned. A memorial service will be 2 p.m.Thursday at Fredrikson Chapel on the campus of Ottawa University. A reception will immediately follow at Peoples Bank, 5th and Main, Ottawa. Dengel & Son Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Updated 5/6/13 @ 11:25 pm
