Calvin Winters

Calvin Winters of Fritch, TX, died on Friday, July 3, 2020, on what family recognize as one of his favorite holidays, the Wimbledon Championships, from a 4.5 year fight with kidney cancer.

Calvin was born to Billy and Audrey Winters on December 5, 1958, as the surprise baby brother of Nancy Bruce, and Billy D. Winters, John M. Winters, Gary E. Winters.

Calvin’s love for the Lord and legacy of faith lives on in his wife and best friend of almost 39 years, Julie, and his four children in order of height not favoritism, Amy, Megan, Jeremy, his sweet daughter-in-law, Lauren, and his grandchildren, Ezra and Sutton.

With one semester to go Calvin became a cradle robber, marrying his freshman girlfriend as a senior in August of 1981, but wouldn’t finish his last semester at Wayland Baptist University until 1984. Most Masters of Divinity degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary take just four years to complete, but Calvin did it in an easy 11 (1995). The renaissance man simply got too distracted pursuing his other passions in life: playing and watching great tennis, especially Wimbledon; dabbling in magic (we’ve still never seen the contents of his magic trunk); reading stories of faith and adventure like C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy; mastering every musical instrument; traveling to Nashville on the country music songwriters circuit.

Most knew him as “Brother Calvin,” a man of God, who patiently pastored congregations of believers in Dalhart, TX, Woodward, OK, Plainview, TX, White Deer, TX, and Fritch, TX. Somewhere in there, he teamed up with the International Mission Board to plant a new church and took his family on a grand adventure to Daventry, England.

He simply ran out of time, or got too distracted, to finish writing his Doctoral dissertation at SWBTS on ending poverty. It’s hard to find the time to write about it, when you’re championing the cause in surrounding communities. But that was Calvin - ambitions to write, sidelined by sharing the love and compassion of Christ with those who needed it most.

Calvin fought the good fight, he finished his race, he kept the faith. He now has heard, “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” and received his crown of righteousness, from the righteous judge, a reward offered to all who love Calvin’s savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

A celebration of his joy-filled life and legacy of faith will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 7, 2020 at The Church at Quail Creek in Amarillo, TX.  The church does require that a mask be worn. Graveside services will be at 2:00 pm Tuesday at West Lawn Memorial Park , outside of Fritch, TX.

If you’d like to visit the family and share some of your favorite stories of Calvin, you can do so from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 6, 2020 at Minton Chatwell in Fritch, TX.

I lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that all gifts be made as a donation to help honor Calvin's life work through the International Mission Board.  https://www.imb.org/give-now/?projectid=f9lmco.  or to the H.O.P.E. Team at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phoenix, Arizona who assist patients and their caregivers who are battling cancer.