Obituaries: April 18, 2014

JANET “JAN” COOK, passed away at Indian River Medical Center after a brief illness. Born in Westville, IL on September 16, 1936 to John and Marcel (Birmont) Stimac, she was raised in IL and graduated from Westville High School in 1954. Jan worked as an Executive Secretary at General Motors, where she met her husband, Thomas W. Cook. Tom and Jan were married on September 8, 1962 and enjoyed 51 years of happy marriage. Jan followed her husband through several job transfers that took them to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Georgia, Michigan, and Illinois before finally settling in Vero Beach. Jan found something to enjoy about each location but especially loved Florida. She enjoyed travel, cooking, and for many years, playing golf.

She leaves behind her brother, Donald Stimac, of Danville, IL, devoted husband, Tom; children Bryan (his wife Amy) of Whitinsville, MA and Leslie (her husband, William Houston) of Crown Point, IN, as well as grandchildren Zachary, Ashley, Abigail and Joshua Cook. Jan will be missed by her family and friends.

A memorial service will be held at the Community Church of Vero Beach at 10:00 AM on Friday, April 25, 2014 followed by a reception at the John’s Island Club. In Lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to VNA Hospice of Indian River County, 1110 35th Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32960 http://www.vnatc.com. http://www.strunkfuneralhome.com. (4/18/14)

PETER F. OSTERMAN SR., 87, of New Egypt, NJ died Monday, April 14 at home with his family by his side. Born in Orange, NJ he was previously a resident of South River, NJ and Sebastian, Florida before moving to New Egypt, NJ in 2013. Peter served in the US Army during World War II in the Pacific theatre of operations from April 1945 to Dec 1946, and was retired from a 30 year career as a computer systems analyst who designed and implemented brokerage applications for various Wall Street firms. He loved country western music, fishing, boating, singing, and playing his guitar. He played rhythm guitar in the country western band Pete Mann & the Cowhands in the 1950’s, and while retired in Florida made many new musical friends through several groups he joined.

Peter was predeceased by his wife Cecelia (Mechalakos), his son Peter Jr., and his daughter, Barbara Tomaszewski. He is survived by his daughter Candace Verrastro and husband David, his son Mark and wife Tracey, his son-in-law Tommy, his grandchildren Tiphani Tomaszewski, Tania Tomaszewski, Michelle Osterman, Maggie Farr, and great grandchildren Joseph Andress Jr., Dominick Genoese, and Mara Farr.

Funeral services for Peter will be held on Friday, April 25 at 1:00 PM at the Strunk Funeral Home in Sebastian, FL with burial to immediately follow in the Sebastian Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Peter’s memory (http://stj.convio.net/goto/Peter_Osterman) may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Attn: Tributes Group, P.O. Box 1000, Dept 142, Memphis, TN 38148-0142. http://www.strunkfuneralhome.com. (4/18/14)

SUZANNE SOMERSALL ROBERTS SCRANTON, 89, the widow of Donald H. Roberts and S.Samuel Scranton, Jr., died of natural causes on April 14, 2014 at her residence at Clare Bridge of Vero Beach, FL. Born Suzanne Somersall Outerbridge on October 23, 1924 on the island of Bermuda, she was the daughter of Ira Stuart Outerbridge and Mary Trott Outerbridge. Through her parents, Mrs. Scranton was a direct descendant of two of the island’s oldest families which had settled in Bermuda in the 17th Century. Growing up in Bermuda in the 1920’s and 1930’s, Mrs. Scranton recalled idyllic childhood days(prior to cars on Bermuda’s roads) filled with swimming, biking, sailing and playing tennis with her numerous island cousins and friends. In 1939, Mrs. Scranton enrolled as a boarder at Dwight School for Girls(Englewood, NJ). There Mrs. Scranton made a number of life-long friends and developed a great love for America and New York City. After graduation from Dwight in June, 1943 as President of Dwight’s Boarding Department, Mrs. Scranton returned to Bermuda.

Shortly thereafter, she met and became engaged to her first husband and the father of her three children, Donald Roberts. Mr. Roberts, a First Lieutenant in the US Navy, was stationed in Bermuda with the USS Hamul prior to its departure in late 1944 to the Pacific. After their marriage ceremony in 1946, the couple moved to America where Mr. Roberts pursued a career as a senior sales executive with Fieldcrest Mills and later as the Executive Director of the National Association of Bath, Bed and Linen Manufacturers, both headquartered in New York City. For 30 years, the couple lived in Summit, NJ where they raised their children. After Mr. Roberts’ retirement in 1992, the couple moved to Vero Beach, FL. In 1996, Mr. Roberts died shortly after they had celebrated 50 years of marriage. In 2001, Mrs. Scranton married her second husband, Samuel Scranton, a widower and a retired business executive living in Vero Beach, FL. Mr. Scranton died in 2011. Mrs. Scranton was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church(Vero Beach) where she was active with the Altar Guild. Mrs. Scranton was also a member of the Riomar Country Club (Vero Beach) and Coral Beach & Tennis Club(Bermuda).

Mrs. Scranton is survived by her three children: Margaret Roberts Murphy, Charlottesville, VA.; Stuart O. Roberts, Steamboat Springs, CO; Donald H. Roberts, Jr., Philadelphia, PA; and by eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Memorial gifts may be sent to the Dwight-Englewood School 315 East Palisade Avenue Englewood, NJ 07631 or Alzheimer and Parkinson Association of Indian River County 2300 5th Avenue Suite 150 Vero Beach, FL. 32960 Private funeral service at a later date. http://www.strunkfuneralhome.com. (4/18/14)

WARREN HOWEY WINCHESTER, 82, of Vero Beach, FL, died April 12, 2014. Charlotte, his loving wife of 56 years, was by his side and helped him go peacefully to heaven. He was born April 7, 1932, in Waxhaw, NC, to the late Albert Ney and Stella Irene Winchester; he was preceded in death by his brother Douglas Winchester and sister Sarah Winchester Lowe.

Mr. Winchester, a graduate of Mineral Springs High School, NC, attended Pfeiffer College, Misenheimer, NC, from 1951-53 where he received an Associate Arts degree. Following his boyhood dream of flying, he joined the U.S. Navy in August 1953 as a Naval Aviation Cadet. Mr. Winchester had a successful 26 year naval career, retiring in 1979 at the rank of Captain. His naval career began as an airship pilot and later he transitioned to flying helicopters during which flew many antisubmarine missions and piloted the helicopter that retrieved the Gemini III astronauts Grissom and Young from the Atlantic Ocean in March 1965. During his naval career he also obtained a degree in engineering, was a flight instructor, did an exchange tour with the Royal Canadian Navy, was a distinguished graduate (1973) of the Naval War College and served as Executive Officer of the U.S.S. Tripoli. He was awarded several medals and honors, including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal and Air Medal. In his early career, while stationed in Lakehurst, NJ, he met his wonderful wife, Charlotte Gehlhaus Winchester.

After searching up and down Florida’s sun coast for just the right community where they felt at home and could live out the next half of their lives, the Winchesters knew their search was complete when they found beautiful Vero Beach in 1983. After settling in to Vero life, Mr. Winchester worked initially as a realtor for several years and later briefly as office manager at Carter Associates.

For over thirty years Mr. Winchester worked tirelessly to serve the community of Vero Beach. He served on the Vero Beach City Council from 1987-1989 and 1994-1996 and as Mayor from 1995-1996. After retiring from political life he remained active in numerous political and civic affairs because he felt everyone should be involved in the business of their community and help do some good when they can. Among his community activities, he served as president of the Republican Men’s Club, Kiwanis Club of Vero-Treasure Coast and Riverside Children’s Theatre. He was also very active in the Trinity Episcopal Church, serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, and was canonized by the Central Florida Diocese Bishop John Howe. In the later years of life, Mr. Winchester would often say that as a simple North Carolina farm boy who grew up in a house without electricity, running water, or the niceties of an inside bathroom, he could hardly have envisioned the paths that his life would take.

Mr. Winchester greatly enjoyed boating on the Indian River, especially taking sunset rides with his family and in his younger days waterskiing and occasional fishing. Being a grandfather brought much joy to his life and he looked forward to the arrival of another granddaughter in July.

We say good-bye to this wonderful man knowing that he lived a full life, loved his family dearly, and served God, his community and country with great honesty, integrity and strong conviction. Mr. Winchester is survived by sons John Winchester and wife Rayleen of Lancaster, CA, and Erik Winchester and wife Sylwia of Washington, DC; daughter Catherine Corker and granddaughter Ashley of Beavedrdam, VA; daughter Barbara Dulac, husband Ronald and grandson John Edward Quigley of Vero Beach, FL; brother Wayne Winchester and wife Anne of Monroe, NC; and numerous loving nephews and nieces.

Funeral services will be held 11 a.m., April 26, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, 2365 Pine Ave, Vero Beach, FL 32960 or the National Naval Aviation Museum, 1750 Radford Blvd, Pensacola, FL 32506.To share remembrances please go to http://www.coxgiffordseawinds.com. (4/18/14)

DR. ENOCH JAMES VANN, JR., Lovingly called Jim, passed away on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at Grace Rehabilitation Center of Vero Beach. Dr Vann’s obituary will be updated when service details are available. http://www.coxgiffordseawinds.com. (4/18/14)