Cover photo for Thomas A. Winner's Obituary
Thomas A. Winner Profile Photo
1931 Thomas 2017

Thomas A. Winner

January 20, 1931 — April 8, 2017

Thomas A. Winner, 86, of Oak Hill, WV passed away Saturday, April 8, 2017 at Hidden Valley Nursing and Rehab Center in Oak Hill.

This passionate Mountaineers fan and long time dedicated democrat was born in Lillybrook, WV, on January 20, 1931 son of the late Frank E.and Esther Fink Winner.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Frank E. (Frances) Winner, Jr.  and William R. (Lora) Winner.

He is married to Ellen Bigony Winner from Hinton. Tom loved children and chose not to differentiate with labels, so all surviving children include Mary Anne Winner from Princeton, Marcia Winner (Eladio) Lao and their five children from Sebring Fl, Thomas Andrew II (Stephanie Cook) Winner and their son from Maricopa, AZ, Leslie Meadows (Todd) Schlemmer and their two children from Lancaster, PA, Joedy (Kristin Zutaut )Meadows of Culpepper, VA and their three children.

He reached the rank of Master Sergeant while serving in the United States National Guard.

Tom moved to Florida in 1954 and worked in a glass shop. By 1958 he was president /owner of Tom Winner Glass Company in Cocoa until 1967. While he was successful during the boom of the Space Program, his proudest accomplishment while in the glass industry was  NASA's Vehicle Assembly building which was used to assemble and house American-crewed launch vehicles from 1968 to 2011. At 3,664,883 cubic meters, it is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume and Tom's glass company installed some of the first sound-proof, heat resistant glass!

In 1967 he moved his family back to Beckley. Not being ready for retirement at age 36, he used his years of experience as a glass contractor to bid on and win the contract to install glass and aluminum at our beautiful Pipestem State Park. Simultaneously, he returned to school and earned his Bachelors Degree in Political Science from Concord College. His love for West Virginians came to life in the late 1960's when he was active in the Raleigh County Community Action Association. Later he made a major commitment to West Virginia's Democratic Party who hired him as Executive Director. He was then hired by John D. Rockefeller, III as his political advisor.

Mr. Winner served as Government Relations Specialist working for different political associations. One such association was the West Virginia Bankers Association with whom he was responsible for bringing branch banking to WV. He eventually became CEO of WVBA. When he retired from the WVBA position, he accepted the position of Government Relations Specialist for the Charleston based public relations firm Charles Ryan Associates until his final retirement.

He served as chairman of the Eastern and Southern States Bankers Association; chairman of the WVU Board of Advisors and had been a member of the WV Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority.

Visitation is Friday, April 14, 2017 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Tyree Funeral Home in Oak Hill. Funeral service will be held at 1:00 pm Saturday, April 15, 2017 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Oak Hill with Father Roy Gene Crist officiating.

Online condolences may be sent at www.tyreefuneralhome.com

Arrangements by Tyree Funeral Home, Oak Hill, WV
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Thomas A. Winner, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

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Visitation

Friday, April 14, 2017

5:00 - 7:00 pm (Eastern time)

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