Ople B. Winey

Ople B. Winey, completed life’s journey on December 7, 2021, a month prior to celebrating her 107th birthday. She maintained a healthy lifestyle for all those years by declining ‘over-the-counter’ and prescription medications and was fortunate enough to avoid any serious illnesses.

Her physicians had to agree with her philosophical reasoning, stating that “if she lived this long without any medical intervention, it must have worked for her…” An occasional glass of sherry and the spiritual support of Mary Baker Eddy helped her clear life’s more challenging hurdles.

She and her husband Arthur, a DuPont Civil Engineer, frequently traveled to England when he was on assignments with the US State Department. It was during those visits that she developed a strong admiration for the city of London and the unique British culture. When she was 103, she was awarded the “Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medallion” in recognition of her dedication and loyalty to “All Things British”. It was her most cherished birthday gift ever, although it came a little late in life.

When she was 13 years old, she became the school librarian in her small Susquehanna Valley hometown, mainly because no one else was interested in the position. Books became her passion from that moment on, and she soon developed a keen interest in great literature and could recite poetry she had read eighty years ago. She was one of the originators of The Great Books Foundation in Wilmington in the late 1940’s,

She married her college sweetheart while attending Bucknell University in 1934 and they were happily married for 74 years. Her daughter, Marjorie Hartzell, who predeceased her in 2013, was a professional harpist and member of the Buffalo Philharmonic and Albany Symphony Orchestras. Ople is survived by a son, Gordon, in Mendenhall, Pennsylvania; a granddaughter, Cynthia (Hugo) Gonzalez of Port Republic, Maryland, and two great grandchildren, Alexander and Margaret.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests supporting your favorite charity.