Daphne Reese Winner

Daphne Reese (Melvin) Winner died on Tuesday morning, November 21, 2017, at Orange Regional Medical Center, one week after being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. We were lucky enough to have her on this earth for 85 years. The daughter of William J. Melvin and Edith Pauline (Berry) Melvin, Daphne was born on December 7, 1931 “out in the woods” in Cary, North Carolina. She and her sister, Joyce, spent many happy early childhood summers at their grandparents’ farm in Parnassus, Virginia. In 1940, her mother moved the family to Scotchtown, New York to work at the State Hospital in Middletown. Daphne attended Middletown schools. After graduation she lived and worked in Reno, Nevada for a time until she eventually made her way back to Middletown. Daphne began her long career at Polak’s Frutal Works (PFW, later Hercules, Inc.) – that smelly place in Middletown on Sprague Avenue. Daphne started in the “secretarial pool” and, due to her hard work and attention to detail, was soon promoted to the position of Executive Secretary for one of the company’s Vice Presidents. Daphne met the love of her life Merritt Winner at PFW in 1960 and they were married in July 1961. Daphne and Merritt were married for 56 years. They raised two children - Laurie and Don - together, starting off in an apartment right across the street from PFW and then moving in 1966 to the house Merritt and his father Fern built near Davidge Park. Their house on Lake Avenue was—and still is—the center of family gatherings, a wellspring of philosophical discussions about people, life, love and the human condition, an observation base for the study of various critters in the yard and a cherished sanctuary filled with love, mischief and tons of laughter. In retirement, Daphne participated in bowling leagues. Her favorite fun pastime was playing the slot machines at area casinos – for chuckles and a little excitement because she really hated losing any sort of serious money. She played bingo at the Senior Center in Middletown when she could. She had many close friends, most of whom passed before her. She didn’t have an enemy in the world and was the nicest person you’d ever want to meet. In 2011, Daphne was very badly injured from a fall down the stairs. Merritt sprang into action and rigged the house up with a stair-lift and other ingenious devices to ensure his beloved Daphne could safely and comfortably remain with him at home. She did just that – right up until she was hospitalized on Monday, November 13th. Daphne accepted her terminal diagnosis with strength, courage and (of course) humor. Although she and her family had to quickly absorb the fact that time was moving way too fast, they spent those precious final few days together, sharing their love, their support, their laughter and their tears. Daphne’s sense of humor is truly immortal and will survive her in the memories of all who knew her. Daphne is survived by her lifelong sweetheart Merritt, her daughter Laurie Dichiara and her partner Jim Simpson, her son Donald Winner and his wife Rosanna, and two wonderful grandchildren, Kent and Sarah. A Memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, November 25, 2017 from 2 to 4PM at the Morse Funeral Home in Middletown NY

Daphne Reese Winner

December 7, 1931 - November 21, 2017