LEROY WINTERS

PERRY – James Leroy Winters, 79, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at his home after an extended illness. The family will visit with friends on Thursday, March 30, 2023, from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. at Watson-Hunt Funeral Home. A private Graveside Service with military honors will be held in Andersonville National Cemetery. Leroy was born in Macon to the late John and Mozelle Hinton Winters and grew up in Butler. After high school, he proudly served our country in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Upon his return stateside, he moved to Fort Valley, and met and married the love of his life, Joyce Lamb. The couple moved to Houston County where they settled to raise their family. Leroy enjoyed his work at Blue-Bird Body Company, and through the years, served as a Group Leader for the Bus Utilities team and on one of the Finish Lines. Towards the end of his career, he was entrusted with Road Testing the buses. Leroy retired after serving at Blue-Bird for over forty years. He was a long-time member of the VFW Post 6126 in Perry and was very proud of his service in Viet Nam. Each year, he worked the VFW booth at the Georgia National Fair, serving their famous ribeye steak sandwiches to the thousands of people who stood in the long line to purchase one. Leroy enjoyed fishing and taking his grandsons fishing until his health would not allow him to do so anymore. He loved his grandchildren so much, which was evident in the amount of time he spent with them, the experiences he gave them, and the knowledge he shared with them. In his spare time, Leroy enjoyed reading westerns. He was delighted when family and friends gifted him with new books and when he found novels he had not read. Leroy was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Betty Sue Posey, Virginia Wainwright, and Jimmy Winters. Left to cherish the memories they made with Leroy are his loving and devoted wife of over fifty-six years, Joyce Winters of Perry; his daughter, Hope Winters Grilliot (Joey Waid) of Warner Robins; his grandsons, T.J. Grilliot and Lance Grilliot (Jessica), both of Henderson; his great-grandchildren, Lillie Caite, Nadia, Ezra, and Braedon; his siblings, Woodrow Winters (Mary) of Columbus, Herman Winters (Pat) of Albany, and Daphne Greathouse (Buddy) of Fort Valley; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. Condolences for the family may be left in the online guestbook at www.watsonhunt.com. Watson-Hunt Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.

Tributes

LEROY WINTERS

January 31, 1944 - March 25, 2023