Remembering Valda June Wininger Reed 1951-2010

 On Death by Kahlil Gibran

 

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.  And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Today I honor and remember my sister-in-law, Valda June Wininger Reed , who gave her heart and soul to her family and her students. 

Valda June Wininger Reed, 58, Johnson City, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, June 27, 2010, after a very brief illness from the Johnson City Medical Center Hospital, in Johnson City, Tennessee.

A native of Yuma, Scott County, Virginia, Valda was the daughter of the late Robert Carson Wininger and June Sandige Wininger, who had lived at Yuma in Scott County, Virginia. She was the granddaughter of the late Robert L. and Clara Fields Wininger and the late John and Ruth Wininger Sandidge.

Valda graduated from Gate City High School and East Tennessee State University.  Valda was a member of Southwestern Baptist Church where she sang in the choir and attended the Anna Lacy Sunday School Class. Serving her Lord and Savior was a priority in her life and it thrilled her when all her family could attend church together. She was a loving, compassionate and charitable person who strived in helping others. Valda was a member of the Gideon Auxiliary Johnson City South Camp and also volunteered at Fairmont Elementary School.  

Valda retired from the Johnson City School system after 31 years of services as a teacher. Valda was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, Beta Chapter and served on several other education associations. As an educator she received many awards:  Teacher of the Year award at Henry Johnson School 1987-1988, Liberty Bell Middle School Building Level 1996-1997 and again at Indian Trail Middle School 2000-2001, she also was nominated by a student for the National League of Junior Cotillions as “Best Mannered Teacher” in 1999. 

Valda enjoyed traveling and spending time at the beach.  Mm]ost importantly she loved caring for her grandchildren who were the apple of her eye. She was a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend. She was a caring daughter-in-law to the late Kenneth Dwight and Minnie Kern Reed.

Valda's parents, Robert C. and June Sandidge Wininger, and her brother, Eldon Robert “Bob” Wininger, preceded her in death.
 

Valda is survived by her husband of 36 years, Charles Benny Reed, of the home in Johnson City; daughter and son-in-law, Amy Suzanne and Jerry Stinecipher, Lexington, S.C.; son, Charles Edward Reed, Johnson City; grandchildren, Gabriel Edward Reed, McKinley Sue-Anna Reed, both of Johnson City, and Jessica Lynn Stinecipher, Lexington, S.C.; Aunts, Jewel Bloomer, Vel Wininger, both of Weber City, Otalee Wininger, Church Hill, and Claudelle Sandige, Kingsport; Uncle, John Sandige, Kingsport; Niece, Lisa Bloomer; nephews; John Wininger and his wife Christy, and Eric Wininger; best friend and “Telephone Buddy”, Joan Price.  Several cousins and special friends also survive.  Additionally she is survived by nephew by marriage, James Eddie Reed, his wife Virginia, and daughter Savannah of Oakland, California; and niece by marriage, Jamie Elizabeth Reed, her husband Craig Burris, and children, Reed James "RJ" Van Wart, Acacia and Ashton Burriss of San Diego, California.

A Celebration of life service for Valda June Wininger Reed will be conducted at 8:00 p.m., July 1, 2010, at Southwestern Baptist Church, Johnson City, with Rev. Greg Salyer officiating. Music will be provided by the adult choir, directed by Mike Huggins, soloist, Wendy Salyer, violinist, Galina Timofeev, and pianist Shelia Vaught. Her family will welcome friends from 5:00 p.m. until the service hour at the church.
 

The graveside service and interment will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, July 2, 2010, in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Kingsport. Active pallbearers will be Charles Reed, Jerry Stinecipher, Gabriel Reed, Homer Price, Gene Crowder, Jim Miller, Earl Reed, Wayne Livingston and David McNees. Honorary pallbearers are the members of the Adult Choir and the deacons at Southwestern Baptist Church. Everyone is asked to meet at the funeral home by 10:00 a.m. to go in procession to the cemetery.

The family sends special thanks to the nurses and staff at Johnson City Medical Center and the members of Southwestern Baptist Church for the care and concern shown to Mrs. Reed and the family.
The family asks that donations in lieu of flowers be made to one of the following: The Roofing Project, C/O Southwestern Baptist Church, 1112 Cherokee Road, Johnson City, TN, 37604; Gideon’s International Johnson City South Camp, P.O. Box 372, Mtn. Home, TN, 37684; or Yuma Ruritan Club, 4383 Yuma Road, Gate City, VA, 24251.
 

Memories and condolences may be sent to the family at www.tetrickfuneralservices.com or faxed to (423) 610-7177.   Arrangements for the Reed family are in the care of Tetrick Funeral and Cremation Services, 3001 Peoples Street, Johnson City, TN 37604, 610-7171.

Remembering George Tyrogalas

Remembering George Spyros Tyrogalas
10 August 1939 – 28 September 2008

George Tyrogalas, longtime resident of Oakland, California, high school teacher, and friend to many, made his transition from this life to the next after a lengthy stay at a hospital in Athens, Greece while vacationing and checking on his recently completed residential property. Being eager to settle into his home away from home he over-exerted himself and suffered a heart attack while visiting an island with friends. He was hospitalized for several weeks in Athens during which his condition deteriorated due to complications of diabetes and other heart issues. He was surrounded by good friends to include Yiannis and Lily Samaras, who lovingly looked after him and were with him when he made his transition. Friends in the Bay Area prayed for a miracle to bring George safely home but sadly it was not to be. On October 2, 2008, George was laid to rest in the Byronas Cemetery in Athens, Greece.

George was born in Kallithea, Greece and grew up an only child during the German occupation of Greece. In 1960 he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to study architecture at the University of California Berkeley. He eventually transferred to California State University at Hayward, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduating from college George enjoyed a thirty-five plus year career as a Bay area high school teacher. He was immensely popular with his students who lovingly called him “Mr. T.” He taught architectural design, drafting, calligraphy, woodshop, metal shop, and numerous other industrial design classes. He taught for many years at Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, then at De LaSalle High School in Concord and for many years in the Berkeley Unified School District and in recent years at Skyline High in Oakland. In June 2008 he retired from teaching and was looking forward to enjoying his friends, loved ones, and precious animals, as well as traveling back and forth to Greece. George greatly loved his teaching career and his students who after having graduated would find him at a favorite cafe in Oakland or Berkeley and exchange fond stories and remembrances. George looked forward to his retirement and future pilgrimages to his beloved Greece where he planned to entertain his many friends.

George was blessed for thirty-one years with the loving companionship of Ann Kingsbury, whom he met through his good friend, Yiannis Samaras, who first met the lovely Ann at Lord Jim’s on Polk Street in San Francisco on Halloween 1977. George was a customer at the Bank of America in Berkeley where Ann worked as a teller. Ann and George shared a great love for friends, family, and their precious animals.

Ann says in her own words, “We struck up a friendship, and the rest is a crazy, mercurial, wild ride. Even though we were only "together" for the first ten years, he remained a friend and a part of my family for the entire time. He has come to most Christmases for the past thirty-one years, and many other holidays, birthdays, Blues Festivals, etc. We were like oil and vinegar much of the time. He drove me crazy, but of course I loved him. I never really knew how he felt about me. He was hard to get to say his inner most feelings most of the time. He would tell others things that he never told me, but I know he felt like family, and for that I am grateful, that he felt like he belonged here.”

George is remembered as a wonderful man whose heart was filled with love and kindness for friends and strangers alike. George had many friends and together they enjoyed café society in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. He was unfailingly polite and complimentary to all he met. He generously offered to give everyone a tour of the Greek Islands if they ever came there during the summers, as he returned to his homeland every year. He always enjoyed admiring beautiful women and never met a pedicure that he didn’t appreciate. He had an amazing wit and excelled as a philosopher and story teller, holding court almost nightly with his friends in recent years at Café Strada. He particularly appreciated the blues and enjoyed videoing people and bands at the San Francisco Blues Festival, organized by his good friend, Tom Mazzolini.

George leaves behind his loving companion of thirty-one years, Ann Kingsbury and. many good friends and countless students who adored him. His cats, Zoe and Calypso, and his precious little dog named First all miss him dearly.

Personally I had the pleasure of getting to know George over many years at Peaberry’s Coffee at Market Hall on College Avenue in Oakland. We casually met up on an almost daily basis at the end of the day or on Saturday afternoons. He always made over the many dogs and little children who were passers-by. He was especially kind to my precious little granddaughter, Savannah. I feel blessed that George invited me into his fascinating circle of friends that included Thanasis Maskaleris, George Gekis, Yiannis and Lily Samaras, Tom Mazzolini, Wakeford Gong and so many other wonderful people.

We are all blessed to have had George in our lives. We are all so very grateful for his love, wisdom, understanding, kindness, and friendship through the years.

Donations in George's name may be made to the Milo Foundation. http://www.milofoundation.org/