Alvin Winegarten

On April 1, 1925, Louise Wollenberg Winegarten said, "Tomorrow, I'm having a baby!" Everyone shouted "April Fool's!" and sure enough, on April 2, 1925, Alvin Winegarten burst into the Jewish world of New York City. His father, Samuel Winegarten, a legal immigrant from London, England, built his son a workbench to craft model airplanes. Al graduated from the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, but missed getting drafted in WWII because of his bad eyesight.

Al moved to Dallas, Texas in the early 1950s, taking a job with Chance Vought, but was fired because his first wife, Ruthe Lewin Winegarten, whom he met with the help of Ginger Jacobs by organizing a Jewish Singles Group at the Dallas Jewish Community Center, had been a student communist party organizer at UT Austin. Al was so shy that Ruthe was the first woman he ever kissed, when he was 30.

After Al and Ruthe divorced years later, Al returned to the Jewish Singles Group, where he met Phyllis Putter, his second wife. They traveled together throughout the world. Al was a quiet charmer, as evidenced by his hospital nurse who said, "He had me at 'hello.'"

Al wasn't a religious man, but he loved celebrating Jewish holidays with his daughter, Debra, and her wife, Cindy Huyser and their many friends. Al made their lives really easy when, in August 2017, Debra emailed him and said, "Dad, you're 92 years old. I don't know how many more years I'm going to have with you. Will you please move to Austin so we can spend as many sunsets together as possible?" Two days later, she called him and he said, "I'm moving to Austin!" And so he did, to start what he said was "a new adventure."

Al is predeceased by his parents, Samuel and Louise Wollenberg Winegarten, his elder sister, Marjorie Winegarten Cappiello, his wives, Ruthe Lewin Winegarten and Phyllis Sukenik Putter, and step-daughter, Martha Addington Winegarten Wilson. He leaves behind his daughter, Debra Lou Winegarten, his daughter-in-law, Cynthia Gaye Huyser, his stepson, Marc David Sanders, his niece Linda Cappiello and her sisters, Shelly and Gayle, as well as Phyllis's children, Susan Putter Picard, Alan, Josh and David Putter, and step grandson, Julian Picard, all of whom he adored. The family is grateful to the loving care of Ariel Goward, social worker extraordinaire, who did all the heavy medical lifting so Debra and Cindy could focus on being loving daughters.

Al left life as he found it, with gusto. We are sure heaven is now quite a bit brighter and miss him more than we could possibly imagine.

Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, February 19, 2018 at Sparkman/Hillcrest Memorial Park, 7405 W. Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX

Donations may be made in Al's memory to the Jewish Federation — Great Dallas, 7900 Northaven Road, Dallas, Texas 75230. May his memory continue to be for a blessing in our lives. Baruch Dayan Emet.