Mrs. Mary Welsh Winter

LUMBERTON, N.C. Graveside service for Mary Welsh Winter, 94, will be held 1:00 p.m. Sunday, December 11, 2011, in Beth Shalom Cemetery – Whaley Street. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.
Mary died Wednesday, December 8, 2011 at Southeastern Regional Medical Center, Lumberton, NC, following a brief illness. She was a resident of Wesley Pines Retirement Community in Lumberton.
Born August 30, 1917, she was the 11th child of 14 children of Samuel Nelson and Blanche Witherspoon Welsh. She grew up on a small farm, survived the depression of 1929 and graduated from Elliott High School in 1934.
In 1936, she entered the McLeod Infirmary School of Nursing, Florence, and graudated in 1939 with an RN degree. She began her nursing career that year at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Columbia, SC. During her tenure there, she cared for veterans of the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. After 34 years of service at the VA Hospital, she retired in 1974. At the time of her retirement, she was Head Nurse on the Neuropsychiatric Ward.
When her father died in 1937, Mary took her mother into her home and cared for her for 28 years until her death in 1975.
Mary was married to Joseph E. Winter in 1955. After 28 years of marriage, Joe suffered a stroke and was bedridden. Mary exchanged her dining room table for a hospital bed and nursed Joe 24 hours a day for nine years until his death in 1992.
Mary and Joe did not have any children but she has been a beloved "Aunt Mary" to 22 nieces and nephews. She has been a pillar of strength to her large family for all of her life. Hers has been a life of service to others.
Mary was a dedicated member of Beth Shalom Synagogue, Columbia, where she served for many years.
Surviving are a sister, Sarah Welsh Buie of Ft. Belvoir, VA; brother Olin H. Welsh of Lumberton, NC; two sisters-in-law, Susan B. Welsh of Lumberton, NC and Lucille M. Welsh of Clinton, NC.
Memorials may be made to Wesley Pines Benevolent Care Fund, 1000 Wesley Pines Road, Lumberton, NC 28358.