Juanita VanWinkie

Juanita Van Winkle of Salina, formerly of Argonia died on October 11, 2013 at the age of 93. She was born on November 16, 1919 on the family farm near Vandalia, Illinois, the daughter of Homer Erastus and Leah Ceora (Lousignot) Guffey. She was one of nine children.

She attended country schools and was a graduate of Vandalia High School where she developed her love of bookkeeping which lasted her entire life. At the age of 19 she met Merle “Rip” Van Winkle, a young oil field worker from Kansas on New Year’s Eve December 31, 1938 and married him on July 5, 1939 in Vandalia, Illinois. During the early years of their marriage they traveled together for his job in the oil fields of Illinois, Wyoming, Missouri among other states.

When Rip enlisted in the service of his country for WWII, Juanita did not stay behind in the Midwest. Instead, after he shipped out of San Francisco she drove their car down Highway I to Los Angeles where she independently rented an apartment and got a job working in a bank for the duration of the war. When Rip returned home she would have liked to stay in sunny California, however, his Kansas roots ran deep and she helped him to achieve his dream of becoming a “Custom Cutter”, traveling through Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and Canada, following “the harvest trail”. This work was mainly in the summer and fall so Rip signed up for auctioneer school to help provide for his family during the other months of the year. They worked as a team and she was his faithful companion until his death June 8, 1998 after being married 59 years.

She stayed at the family home in Argonia until the fall of 2004 when Juanita moved to Salina to be closer to family and got to live in a brand new apartment, the first time in her life she had ever lived in anything that was brand new. It was as if Juanita had moved into a great sorority house with girls who came to be lifelong friends. Having her hair done and dressing sharply was important to her after growing up in poverty during “the great Depression”, which she said wasn’t so “great”. She proudly said “I would never wear a pair of blue jeans if I don’t have to”. Throughout her entire life a weekly color, cut and set was a highlight. After moving to Salina she stopped the color and her family loved the beautiful white hair that resulted. Although Juanita was the ultimate hostess for many parties and holiday gatherings, after cooking in the harvest fields for 37 years her favorite quip was “don’t mess up the kitchen, let’s go out to eat”. She would always enjoy shopping and then taking everyone out to eat.

As people who knew her would attest Juanita loved to get a bargain. Shopping was one of her favorite sports and back in her younger days she wouldn’t leave home without the stiletto heels that she in later years scolded her granddaughter for wearing. It comforts us to know she went to the big shopping mall in the sky. Juanita’s devotion to her Christian faith was evident to those that knew her. She has read the Bible in its entirety every year since the mid 1970’s and completed this years reading the Bible just a few weeks ago.

Juanita is survived by her daughter, Anita Gae Van Winkle Huntley (Jack Sheahon) of Salina, grandson Zachary Douglas Huntley of Los Angeles, California, granddaughter Jessica Rose Sheahon of New York City, New York and sister Doris Bruce of Sun City, Arizona. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband and siblings: Sisters – Darleen Pruett in 2006, Clara Bunyard in 2006, Alberta Bruce in 2010; Brothers – Dale in 1943, Nelson in 1991, Erin in 1993 and Laurel in 2006.

Graveside services for Juanita will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, October 18, 2013 at the Argonia Cemetery in Argonia.

A memorial has been established in her loving memory with the Women Helping Women, c/o Greater Salina Community Foundation, P.O. Box 2876, Salina 67401.

To share a memory or leave condolences, please visit www.dayfuneralhome.info.

Arrangements are by Day Funeral Home & Crematory, Wellington.