In Memoriam: Longtime Fair Havenite, Colleen Winters, 73

Longtime Fair Havenite, Colleen Patricia Winters passed away on Sept. 5 at Jersey Shore University Medical Center following a brief illness. She was 73.

Born in Newark to John and Katherine (Hedigan) Crane, Colleen was raised in Middletown with her nine siblings. There she met and married “the love of her life, John Winters.” The couple moved to Fair Haven in the early 1970’s. There, they “built a life together, worked hard and raised three sons and a daughter.”

“After 42 years of marriage, Colleen lost John in 2013, but she carried on as a devoted mother, grandmother, sister and aunt, and her home in Fair Haven remained the center of family life. Her door was always open to them and to their friends, whether for a treat from her amply stocked pantry, a coffee, or
just a break from playing in the neighborhood.

Colleen had a talent for design and a love of beautiful aesthetics. She was a gifted florist, having owned and operated Petal Pusher Florist in Middletown with her husband John and then working beside her sisters and brother in law for years at Harmony Florist in North Middletown. Colleen’s floral arrangements graced the tables at countless weddings and other celebrations for family and friends.

She enjoyed shopping and travel, particularly to Cape May. Every St. Patrick’s Day family and friends eagerly anticipated her Irish soda bread, crafted from a recipe carried down through generations.

Colleen was a warm conversationalist, attentive and welcoming to those brought into her circle, was always up for a laugh, and took the well-intentioned teasing by her children and grandchildren in good stride. Colleen’s devotion to her children and grandchildren was boundless; she was always at the ready to help, was in integral part of their lives and took tremendous
pride in all of their accomplishments.”
Loved ones of Colleen Winters in her obituary

Colleen is survived by: her four children, Ryan (Kristen) Winters, of Rumson, Jamie (Courtney) Winters, of Fair Haven, Shawn (Erin) Winters, of Port Monmouth, and Tiffany (Marcus) Onni, of Fair Haven; her nine grandchildren, Caden, Nolan, Kellen, James, John, Emma, Lindsey, Logan and Liam; her sisters, Karen Thompson and Kathleen Brogan; brothers, John and his wife Robin Crane, Kevin Crane and Daniel Crane; and countless nieces and nephews.

She is predeceased by: her parents, John and Katherine Crane; her husband, John Winters; her brother, Thomas Crane; and her sisters, Maureen Appaneal and Eileen O’Leary.

Family and friends may visit on Thursday, Sept. 14, from 4 to 7p.m. at the John E. Day Funeral Home, Red Bank. A mass of christian burial will be celebrated on Friday, Sept. 15, at 10 a.m., at Church of the Nativity, Fair Haven. Burial will follow at Fair View Cemetery in Middletown.

— Edited obituary prepared by family via John E. Day Funeral Home