Winston Harwood

Winston Harwood, a fifth generation Texan, died on Sunday, March 28, 2010 at age 89. He was born on October 11, 1920 in Harlingen, Texas to Augusta Hoskins Harwood and Winston Bridges Harwood both formerly of Gonzales, TX. Upon graduation from Harlingen High School in 1938; he entered the school of Architecture at the University of Texas where he pledged Beta Theta Pi fraternity to which both his father and grandfather had also belonged. After the start of World War II he enrolled in Yale University where he obtained his commission as an Armament Officer in the U.S. Air Force and served overseas under General Doolittle at Headquarters 8th Air Force at High Wycombe, England and at Bad Kissinger, Germany for the duration of the war at the end of which he was discharged with the rank of Captain. After the war, he re-entered the University of Texas where he graduated with a BA in Advertising. While President of his fraternity at UT, he organized a fundraising campaign among the fraternity's alumni raising more than a half million dollars to build a new chapter house which at the time was the most money ever raised by a fraternity. Two years after graduation he founded a public relations firm specializing in fund raising which he operated successfully for the next 8 years. While on vacation in Acapulco, Mexico in 1953 he met his future wife, Irene "Puddin" Hopkins and after a whirlwind courtship, married her in her hometown of Victoria, Texas. Puddin was his beloved wife, business partner, and best friend for 53 years. In 1959 he changed careers and opened Harwood Tours and Travel. He and his wife travelled abroad extensively visiting more than one hundred countries as well as sailing on more than sixty cruises the world over. He was very active in travel industry affairs locally and nationally, holding every office, including that of President the Southwestern area of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and later as a National Director of ASTA. In 1996 he retired and sold his business and began to devote more time to his hobby genealogy, researching his family history and identifying over nine hundred direct ancestors back thirty-five generations, including Sir Edward Harwood, the first of his family to arrive in Virginia in 1619. He compiled this research into a genealogy which was published. He also compiled a genealogy for his wife's family. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Puddin and his sister, Cordelia Harwood Taylor. He is survived by his three beloved daughters and their spouses, Cordie and Tom Ewing of Houston, Reenie and Kent Collins, Lucy and Phil Weber; his devoted son, Winston Joseph Harwood and partner, Stacey Veazey; also by his adored grandchildren James and Katie Ewing of Houston, CeCe, Winston and Tye Collins and Caroline Weber of Austin and Jenny Duke of San Antonio. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, March 31, from 5:00 -7:00 p.m. at Weed Corley-Fish, North Lamar. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, April 1, at 11:00 a.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 3210 Windsor Rd. followed by interment at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery. The family requests that memorials be made to the Seton Fund, 1201 West 38th Street, Austin, TX 78705 www.setonfund.org or to the charity of your choice.