JUNE 15 • 2023 | 77
OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY
F
lora Winton loved to read and, more
importantly, she loved to learn.
The Jewish community trailblaz-
er, who passed away on May 28, 2023,
at the age of 106, always had a book in
hand — typically nonfiction — and was
eager to learn anything and everything
she could about the world.
Yet what stood out most about Winton
wasn’t just her passion for learning — it
was her passion for sharing that knowl-
edge with others.
Throughout a long and fulfilling life,
Winton devoted her time to bettering
the community. She served on countless
boards, was a faithful Temple Beth El
member (and later first female president)
and volunteered in everything from hos-
pitals to art associations.
Born in Ann Arbor in 1917, Winton
was the daughter of Peter Miller, an
accomplished attorney and businessman,
and Rosa Miller, a devoted and loving
mother.
When she was a toddler, the family
moved to Atkinson Street in the Boston-
Edison district of Detroit, and later New
York and Chicago, before eventually
returning to Detroit.
Winton grew up in a Reform Jewish
household that celebrated Jewish tra-
ditions, such as Friday night Shabbat
dinners. While the family wasn’t very
religious, they were active members of
Temple Beth El, where Winton would
remain for many decades to come.
Winton, who had always appreciated
the art of the written word, attended
Northwestern University, where she
graduated in 1939 and majored in theater
production. She then studied at Wayne
State University graduate school, major-
ing in instructional technology.
After graduating, Winton ramped up
her volunteer work, but not before meet-
ing her husband and soulmate, Frank
Winton, who passed away in 2001.
They were polar opposites, recalls their
daughter, Susan Winton-Feinberg. Frank
was an athlete and accomplished tennis
player, while Flora was a bookworm who
spent her time studying. However, they
both shared a love for reading books and
dancing.
The pair married in 1942 in the heart
of World War II. Frank Winton was a
pilot and captain with the U.S. Air Force,
and Flora traveled with him to different
bases around the country. Luckily, Frank
Winton was never sent overseas to fight
in Europe.
Just before the end of the war, Frank
and Flora’s only child, Susan, was
born. She quickly became her parents’
world. Yet as far back as Susan Winton-
Feinberg, 79, of Bloomfield Hills, can
recall, her mother, Flora, was always
involved at Temple Beth El.
In the 1950s, Winton served as Temple
Beth El Sisterhood president and Home
Relief Society president for two years each.
She was also Temple Beth El chairperson
and a founding member and executive
board member of Temple Beth El Players.
That decade, Winton also served as
chairperson for the Round Table of
Christians and Jews and on various com-
mittees in the National Council of Jewish
Women. In addition, she was co-found-
er and executive board member of the
Bloomfield Art Association.
Into the 1960s, Winton’s volunteerism
continued to grow. Her excellent listen-
ing skills and ability to engage others
and get them to open up, as her daughter
describes, made her a natural leader.
Winton expanded her involvement at
Temple Beth El to work at the temple’s
Braille Bindery, which is still in operation
and binds books for blind children.
She also grew her involvement in the
arts and served as a foreign film crit-
ic for the Motion Picture Council of
Metropolitan Detroit, among other vol-
unteer efforts.
As the years went on, Winton
remained dedicated to Temple Beth El.
She served as executive director pro-tem
from 1979 to 1980, then as president in
1983. In the 1990s, she was chairper-
son of the Temple Beth El library and
co-chairman of the archives.
Still, these involvements only begin
to scratch the surface of the immense
work Winton has done in the Metro
Detroit Jewish community and beyond;
much of her work reached a nation-
al scale (such as serving as a board
member of the North American
Board of World Union for Progressive
Judaism and volunteering for Women’s
American ORT).
When asked her secret to a long life,
Winton always credited her longevity
to exercise. She was passionate about
Pilates, cooking, and never smoked or
drank.
“She was a perfect lady,” Winton-
Feinberg says. “She was brilliant. The
way she spoke and the way she said
things, people stopped to listen.”
Winton-Feinberg, an accomplished
interior designer who was encouraged by
her mother to pursue a career in interior
design, recalls Flora Winton as a “force
of nature.”
“She just loved life,” she says. “She
loved using her brain.”
Arrangements were by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.
Flora Winton — Community Trailblazer
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Flora Winton