Dan Raymond Winters

Dan Raymond Winters, 80, succumbed to metastatic cancer the morning of July 12, 2024 after two months in hospice care in Rayville, La.

(Dec. 19, 1943 (Winnsboro, La.) — (July 12, 2024 (Rayville, La.)

                                       Pop

First, if you’re reading this, you likely knew Pop. So please know that he passed peacefully watching TV. He was in remarkably good spirits and apparently comfortable in his last few days. Looking back, it was almost like he was a little excited, as if for a holiday or maybe a trip. Perhaps he was.

Pop was a Louisiana country boy who grew into an honest, loving and quietly strong man. I can best tell you who he was by telling you what he taught me, his son, over his lifetime.

First, context: Pop chose to be my father. My genetic father was out of the picture when Pop met my mother and fell in love with her for life. It was my miraculous fortune that he also fell in love with me. And when he and Mom were married, he also gave me his name. So complete was his commitment that I was eleven years old before I knew, and then only because my mom told me.

I remember smiling and her asking why. “My dad chose me,” I said. So now we get to what he taught me.

Pop taught me to be honest, work hard, treat people with respect and help them however I can when they need it. He taught me to do what’s right to the best of my knowledge, regardless of consequences. He taught me to stand up to bullies and educate myself so I could stand up to injustice.

Dad also taught me to laugh, especially at myself. He was always quick to offer a little Dad joke, and when I was little, would ham it up with his Fender guitar like a rock star while he played How Much Is That Doggie in the Window and Johnny Be Good for me. To me, he was a rock star.

In his last years, Pop taught me that love is the flipside of loss, that it comes at a price, and that it can exact its toll in toil and heartache. But it’s the very reason we exist. Pop knew that, and that’s why he’s so loved by so many. If you’re reading this, chances are you know just what I mean.

There will be a memorial reception at a future date to be determined. Contact Chris Winters at winterswill1+memorial@gmail.com to be notified when the reception is scheduled. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Cancer Society or Alzheimer’s Association.

Condolences may be left at brownholleyfuneralhomes.com.

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