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Mark William Winges

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mark-winges

OCTOBER 23, 1952 – APRIL 16, 2023

The story of Mark’s life started in the Village of Rush City, Minnesota. Yep you read that right… born in a “village”, the same place his mother was born. Mark William Winges was born October 23, 1952 to Wesley and Joyce Winges. His grandparents were Alex and Elsie Winges and John and Alice Anderson. Mark was second in the order of seven children including Steven Winges, Chris Winges, Mike Winges, Clark Winges, Ellen Winges, and Jason Winges.

Mark was largely raised in Minnesota among the towns of Duluth, Perham, and Sartell before his family moved to Gilman and Grinnell, Iowa for a short period of time in support of his father Wesley’s railroad career. When Mark was in the 6th grade, the family packed it all up and moved back to Minnesota to the town of Morton where Mark attended and graduated from Morton High School in 1971. Mark was on the football team at Morton High School and was a class officer. Mark remained life-long friends with many of his classmates and friends from Morton, a testament to his deep loyalty and unwavering friendship.

After high school, Mark moved to Minneapolis where he lived with his brother Steve and attended Normandale Community College for welding. Mark chose to enlist in the Army on Jan 15th, 1973, where he served two years of honorable service and got to travel to countries such as Greece and Italy, where he was stationed. After separating from the military, Mark returned to civilian life as a welder in the Minneapolis area and honed his welding skills by completing vocational schooling at the Hutchinson Area Vocational Technical Institute in 1976. At the encouragement of his close friends, Mark later moved to Colorado where he took a job working as a welder for the Union Pacific Railroad. After the birth of his daughter, Mark no longer needed to be “on the road” so he went back to school and studied electronics. In 1988, Mark graduated from the Technical Trades Institute in Colorado Springs, where he earned an Associate’s Degree in Electronic Engineering Technology. This led him to make a career with Konica Minolta where he worked for over 30 years and retired in the summer of 2019.

Mark’s daughter, Shelly Winges, was born in Denver, CO in 1981. Mark cherished his daughter and devoted his life to providing her with all the love, support, trust, security, and opportunities he could provide. Mark raised Shelly as a single parent in Loveland, Colorado where he lived the rest of his life. Mark also committed his love to caring for Shelly’s half-brothers, Kevin James and Kenny Sellars. Mark was blessed and grateful to have his parents and four of his siblings within an hours drive for nearly all the years he lived in Loveland. His family was his life. The blessing of close proximity allowed for many family gatherings and celebrations over the years. Mark was grateful for the strong bonds he had with his brothers and sister, and for being able to be closely involved in the lives of many of his nephews and nieces as they grew up. Mark never lost sight of the love, support, and grace his family mutually provided in helping him to raise Shelly.

Mark was a Christian man who believed in God, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Mark exemplified Christian values in his interactions with others and imitated Christ in the way he cared for and loved Shelly as her Father, and in the way he treated everyone with which he crossed paths. He was kind, patient, understanding, and forgiving. Those who were blessed to be in his life were loved unconditionally. Mark left an impression on friends, colleagues, and even those he only briefly knew, as being a modest, humble man. Mark lived simply and peacefully. Even in times of hardship, Mark did not waiver in his commitment to be the best son, father, brother, and friend that he could be. Mark was compassionate and a man of honesty, grace, and integrity. He was always respectful of others, even when he was in disagreement. His friendship and love was unconditional to family and friends. James 4:6… “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

As a young man, Mark was a hunter and fisherman who enjoyed the great outdoors. He had many fond memories of growing up in Minnesota and swimming and fishing in the lakes. After Shelly was born, he found joy in raising his daughter whom he loved immensely, nurturing her well-being, sharing his knowledge and guidance, and teaching her how to grow up into a young woman. Mark loved spending time with family and close friends, hanging out watching football, going to Rockies games, riding his motorcycle, having a craft beer, and attending an occasional music concert. He was not a loud or boastful man, but he did have a sense of humor and liked to joke around, which his closest friends will remember. Mark was known for being a good cook and enjoyed trying out different recipes often for family gatherings.

In Marks’ last few years he endured the battle against cancer, and like all his life’s hardships, Mark met this battle with courage and grit. He remained calm, humble, and peaceful in his determination to continue being the best father, brother, uncle, and friend in this life. He recently celebrated his 70th birthday at a surprise birthday party with many of his friends and family in attendance to honor him on that beautiful fall day in October.

Mark was a strong willed, resilient man, and this gave him fortitude to live life well even in times of adversity and up to the day that he quietly departed this life on April 16, 2023. Mark is survived by his brothers and his loving daughter. Shelly will remain eternally grateful for his lifetime of unconditional love and selflessness, and for the many blessings they shared together as father and daughter, and for the memories made collectively with his family and everyone he touched throughout his life.

Mark will forever live in the hearts of those he loved.

Mathew 11:28-30… “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”