I. I. Winner

I. I. WINNER

I.I. was born in Dresden, Germany in 1938. During WWII, her family relocated to Ansbach due to Allied Forces bombing raids. She attended Catholic boarding school as a young girl, and enjoyed ice skating and competitive swimming. She also became an accomplished taylor with skills handed down from her mother and grandmother. At 16 years of age, she enrolled in nursing school. While at school, she met and fell in love with an US Army soldier named Bill Snell. At 18 she married, and in 1957 moved to Columbus, GA. With the assistance of her new American family, she became acclimated to life in the USA. In 1959 her first child was born, then 3 more by 1965. In 1967 I. I. made a tough decision to end her marriage and raise her four children on her own. Her steadfast resolution to succeed, and with the assistance of the Miller Road Sanctified Church of Christ of Columbus, friends and relatives, enabled her to provide for her family. As a single mother of four, she enrolled in the nursing program at Columbus College. While attending nursing school, she was employed at the Medical Center Hospital full time. Those years taught her children how to work as a team by pulling together to get chores done so their mother could have time to study after work. These were lean times, but she always made sure her children were fed, and well taken care of.

After graduating and obtaining her RN license, she worked at the Medical Center as a surgical operating nurse. There she met James Winner. In 1976 they were married, and continued to reside in Columbus until their retirement in 1998. Although she was saddened with leaving her backyard pool paradise, her relocation to Panama City, FL would be a new chapter in her life. Enjoying retirement with her husband Jim, I. I. began seeking senior educational courses. She became extremely active in the community, becoming a Florida Master Gardener for Bay County in 1999. Over the last 20 years, she served several offices, taught new Master Gardeners, and helped many Bay County residents. She joined the Panama City Garden Club in 2002, and was a state life member. In 2007 she became one of the founding members of the Sweet Bay Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. I. I. also was an excellent seamstress and enjoyed knitting, crocheting and sewing. Gardening and raising native plants and butterfly habitats was also her passion. "God's Little Acre" in Panama City was her new oasis. Most days she could be found there doing what she loved best-gardening native plant style, where many bird and butterfly species thrived. A truly remarkable woman, she was well loved by everyone who met her. She will be missed by all.

I. I. Faced many challenges in her lifetime, meeting them head on, and conquering them all!

She was preceded in death by her parents, Han and Elfrieda Dreschler, her husband, James Winner, and daughters, Cindy Irene Snell-Vogel and Barbara Francine Snell-Adamson.

Survivors include her son, Steven Snell and wife Churua; daughter, Heidi Snell Roberson and husband Leonard and children, Sean and Truby; sisters, Heidi Spranger and husband Hans and Christa Thomas and husband Michelle; her grandsons, Steve Gilbert, wife Michelle and daughters Kylee and Lillian; Joshua Adamson, wife Dr. Genevieve Adamson and daughters Evelyn and Catherine; Steven Adamson, wife Darylin and sons Degan and Roxen; and James Adamson, wife Stephanie and sons, Sorin, Jayce, and Gideon; step-son, James L. Winner, Jr., wife Ann, their son Bryan and daughter Candice; step son, John Winner and his daughter, Jennifer; step-daughter Jamie Winner Hayes, husband Mike and children Lindsey and Brittney; and step-daughter Jessie Cutchins, husband Steve, and children David, Christopher, and Corey.

A Celebration of Life Service for I. I. will be held at 10:00 am Wednesday, January 22, 2020, at the Kent-Forest Lawn Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Virgil Tillman officiating. The family will receive friends at the chapel from 9:00 am until service time at 10:00. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Family Service Agency of Bay County, 114 E. 9th St., Panama City, FL 32401. Pending U. S. C. G. approval, burial at sea will be performed January 23, 2020. Mrs. Winner's remains will be joined with the remains of her husband, James Winner, daughters, Cindy Irene Vogel and Barbara Francine Adamson.

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