Obituary of William Otto Winkler

The youngest son of George August and Ora Mae Winkler was born March 30, 1925 at Log Cabin, LA, and lived his entire life in the home he and his dad built. Mr. Winkler entered into eternal rest on January 25, 2012 at the Veteran's Home in Monroe, LA at the age of 87. Otto Winkler was preceded in death by his brother, Albion Winkler age 20; his wife of 59 years, Claudia Hughes Winkler; and his oldest son, George Albion Winkler age 60. Mr. Winkler is survived by his daughter, Beverly Winkler, 61 of Haughton, LA; sons, Kerry Winkler of Lake Wales, FL, and Terry Winkler of Springfield, MO, both 58 years old; and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. Otto or "Atta" as he was known by his close friends, fishing and hunting buddies, spent his formative years playing around Log Cabin Grocery Store founded by his mom and dad and operated continuously from 1920 to 1975 on the Crossett Hwy. north of Bastrop at the Old Bonita Road. Otto Winkler was known throughout Morehouse Parish as an avid hunter and fisherman, skills he learned from his dad and enjoyed most of his life. Otto focused his outdoor sporting on just two sports, duck hunting and catfishing. Few mastered these sports any better than he did. Otto had shot and had taxidermist preserved at least one excellent example of every species of duck that flies in the North American flyways as well as all species of geese. This extensive collection was donated to the Zoology Department of LA Tech University in the mid 1990's. As far as catfishing goes Otto limited his interest to trotlines in Bayou Bartholomew. He caught 15-25 pound blue and opelousas catfish so often he did not bother to show these to friends and family because they were too ordinary and commonplace to him. The largest opelousas catfish weighed near 60 pounds, measured 11 inches from eye to eye and his mother cleaned over 10 pounds of meat out the huge cat's head. Kerry and Terry spent many memorable afternoons running the outboard motor for Otto so that their dad could run the trotlines. One of his favorite people to go hunting or fishing with was Ed Yeldell or as Otto referred to him, "Uncle Ed". Otto Winkler adhered to a very strict moral code in regards to outdoor sports. He never violated a single wildlife and fisheries code. If the drops on the trotline had to be two feet apart he would put them three feet apart, unwilling to even come close to violating the rules of hunting and fishing. In fact, he felt so strongly about this if he even thought someone else had ever violated the game rules he would not go hunting or fishing with them. Tom Brokaw named men and women of Otto's era "The Greatest Generation" for many reasons one of which was their response to Hitler's threat and the events leading up to World War II. Otto was one of the young men who eagerly volunteered to serve. A proud and brave member of the Infantry, 88th Sig. Co. with a military specialty of Rifleman 745. He was armed with a BAR or Browning Automatic Rifle, as such Otto was called to be at the very front of the battle lines. Serving in Italy an enemy soldier equipped with a similar weapon as Otto's let out a burst of automatic gunfire. Otto was hit by five bullets and laid in a trench for hours until his squad subdued the Germans enough to remove him to an Army hospital. Having recovered from his wounds he returned to the battle and continued fighting for his country. He received a Purple Heart for his valor and never asked for anything more. Truly an example of the "Greatest Generation". William Otto Winkler died a proud veteran and never forgot that his brother Albion died serving in the US Navy on the USS Barton fighting the Japanese invasion of the south Pacific. Otto lived a full life and in his view experienced the true American dream of living in the greatest country in the world. Marrying his sweetheart Claudia Winkler, who was his faithful wife of 59 years and enjoying an outdoorsman's life in the Sportman's Paradise. Otto worked as a paper maker at International Paper Company in Bastrop for 40 years, retiring in 1985. As fishing and hunting became too demanding physically, "Toe" as he was affectionately known by his co-workers at the mill and close family members focused his energy and time on raising tomatoes. This was much more than a hobby for Toe, it was a passion. Toe raised tomatoes the way Michael Angelo painted the Sistine Chapel. He looked forward to spring when he could start seedlings and tomato plants in the green house, spending much of the winter months reading articles on tomato plants and ordering various seeds. Otto had green, red, yellow and purple tomatoes fixed every way you can imagine. Stewed, sliced, diced, frozen, canned, pickled, juiced, and fried tomatoes, you name it he had it. William Otto Winkler, a life well lived and now is at rest with his greatest asset, Claudia Winkler. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the chapel of Golden Funeral Home with Rev. Kevin McDaniel officiating. Visitation will be from 10-11 a.m. Saturday at Golden Funeral Home. Interment will be in Pine Grove Baptist Church Cemetery.