Joe Don Winters

Legendary Harrah educator and cherished grandfather Joe Don Winters joined his wife in their heavenly home on September 19, 2024. He was 77 years old.

Joe was born in Harrah, OK to A.J. Winters, Jr. and Lila Ferguson Winters. His father’s job moved the family often, so Joe spent his elementary years bouncing from one state to the next. However, the family returned to their roots for Joe’s and his brother David’s high school years. The Winters family ran the local Phillips 66 station while the boys attended Harrah High School, where Joe graduated valedictorian of the class of 1965.

Joe followed his brother to OU but transferred to Central State College two years later, graduating summa cum laude in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in English Education. He accepted a job from his alma mater that same year, making just $6,300 to teach four preps and sponsor student council. He taught during the day and immediately began working toward his master’s degree at night, graduating again in 1975.

Later that same year, Joe married an Alabaman girl he’d only dated through handwritten letters and group dates. He brought Diane Ashcraft Winters back to Harrah, and together they built a home: both a literal house within walking distance from the then-new high school, and a life with children Emily, born in 1978 and Andrew, born in 1982.

By this point in his career, Mr. Winters was a household name among the Harrah High School student body simply by the number of hats he wore on campus: over the course of almost four decades at HHS, he taught 7th, 9th, 10th, and--his favorite--11th grade English, Intro to Speech, Drama, Advanced Speech and Debate, and Advanced Composition. He sponsored the competitive speech, drama, and debate teams, the Masque and Gavel Club, student council, and cheerleading. He coached both boys’ and girls’ tennis for so many years that the courts are now named after him. He started the Mr. and Miss Harrah pageants, ran the Oklahoma Blood Institute blood drive every year, and coordinated graduation ceremonies. It wasn’t his constant presence, however, that made him a favorite among students and colleagues alike; it was his humble approach to human connection, his quick wit in conversation and through instruction, his high expectations for students and himself, and his genuine, unbiased care for people no matter their background.

Mr. Winters directed huge musical productions over the years; some were of course with the school: Oklahoma!, Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man, and The Sound of Music to name a few. Others were at First Baptist Church of Harrah, where he has served off and on as interim music minister but full-time as the bass line of any given choir number or hymn for nearly six decades. He led youth choirs, adult choirs, and a number of ensembles, always stating that he felt closest to God when praising Him through song. Ever the educator, Joe also served as Sunday School teacher for many years and loved helping his wife take care of the babies in the nursery.

Joe retired from teaching in 2007 when his second grandchild was born, choosing to spend his days with Diane taking care of little ones instead of high schoolers for the next fifteen years. “Joe Daddy,” as many of his students lovingly called him, became “Daddy Joe,” and his biological grandchildren as well as a handful of other children who spent their days with Nana and Daddy Joe were spoiled by his lullabies before naptime and walks in the stroller at the park. At every basketball tournament, soccer game, or tennis match, his booming voice let the kids know that Daddy Joe was there to cheer them on.

Joe was an English teacher through and through: he could ace crossword puzzles because he loved words; he loved movies because he loved scripts; he loved music and art because he could see the deeper meaning; he loved writing because it gave him an outlet; he loved students because he knew he could help them; he loved Scripture because it had given him purpose, peace, and a plan. When Alzheimer’s robbed his mind of almost everything and everyone, he could still find the words to say: “Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well with my soul.”

Joe is preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 49 years, Diane. He is survived by his brother David Winters and his wife Gay; daughter Emily Mennsfield, husband Val, and boys Cameron and Myles; son Andrew Winters, wife Alicia, children Addie, Jack, Abe, and Allie; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Services will be held on Saturday, September 28, at 10:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Harrah. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages memorial contributions to FBC Harrah’s Falls Creek fund at 2185 Church Avenue, Harrah, OK 73045.

Arrangements are under the care of Asa Smith Funeral Services of Harrah, Oklahoma. Online condolences may be made at www.asasmith.net