Winifred June Brinkroeger

Winifred June Brinkroeger, 101, of 1729 Wabash Ave., died Thursday, March 15, at her home at Wynnfield Crossing. 

She was born on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 1916, to Charles S. and Edyth Kingery Overmyer at her maternal grandmother’s home in the 600 block of Madison street, Rochester.

Following her graduation from Rochester High School in 1934, June attended Fort Wayne International Business College, graduating in 1935. While the school found her a job in Detroit, her father would not allow her to go there alone. Since there was no other job available to her, she returned to Rochester upon graduation to work at M. Wile’s department store in the business office. She worked 50 hours a week for $10. 

A job offer from Levi Moore, who operated the Chester White Swine Record Association in Rochester, lured her away from Wile’s, and she worked for him from 1936 until 1941. Mr. Moore was director of publicity for the Indiana State Fair and for several years she went to Indianapolis for fair week, where she was in charge of the boys and girls who gathered names of the shows’ winners, which were then reported to local newspapers around the state.

She married William “Bill” Brinkroeger, whom she met during her time in Fort Wayne, on March 29, 1941, at the Presbyterian Church in Rochester. He died in 1981, soon after he retired.

The couple first lived in Fort Wayne, where she was secretary to the district manager of the City Service Oil Co. In 1942, they moved to Detroit, where she worked for the Hudson Motor Car Co. as a secretary in the planning department. After the war, when the company started making cars again, she worked for the sales manager. 

They moved to Arizona in August 1956, settling in Scottsdale. Between 1958 and 1978, when she retired, she worked for the manager of engineering for a company that made airplane components. When she joined the company, it was Garrett Air Research, then Signal Oil, then Allied Signal and, finally, Honeywell.

June and Bill loved to travel. Every September they would travel overseas. They visited every continent except South America and Antarctica, and every state except North Dakota. They were the only tourists on one trip to Alaska’s North Slope in the 1960s. She continued to travel after her husband’s death, but not as far from home. She also loved her weekly bridge games, trips to the latest movies and reading.

She moved back to Rochester in May 2008 to be closer to family and lived at Wynnfield Crossing, where she made many new friends.

She was a member of Community Presbyterian Church, Rochester, and Valley Presbyterian Church, Paradise Valley, Ariz.

June is survived by nieces Laura Brown and husband Fred of Abingdon,Va., Betsy Madlem and husband Gary of Rochester, Sarah O. Wilson and husband W.S. of Rochester, and Rebecca Vincent of Fort Wayne; great-nephews, Jack Oldroyd of Elkhart and Luke R. Wilson and wife, Nancy, of Carmel; great-niece Hannah J. Wilson and husband Adam Albright of Louisville, Colo.; and great-great-nephews Drake and Calvin Wilson and Alexander Albright.

Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her mother in 1957, father in 1978, niece Jennifer K. Overmyer in 1999, sister-in-law Margery H. Overmyer in 2009,brother, Jack K. Overmyer in 2010 and niece, Donna Niemey.

A memorial service will be scheduled later, when the weather is more to her liking. Zimmerman Bros. Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Burial will be in IOOF Cemetery, next to her husband.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Jennifer K. Overmyer Memorial Fund to benefit the libraries of Rochester Community Schools through the Fulton County Community Foundation or the Fulton County Public Library.

Her family thanks Barb Bilby, the Wynnfield Crossing staff, the Kindred Hospice staff and her recent caregivers for their thoughtful care.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Winifred June Brinkroeger, please visit our floral store.