Obit – Mr. Donald Winfree

A retired Rome community farmer, Mr. Donald Winfree, died peacefully at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, December 21, 2022, with his two daughters at his bedside at his Shady Trail home. He was pronounced deceased at 10:17 p.m. at the age of 93 by Avalon Hospice of Cookeville, who had been loving assisting his family with his care.

Wednesday afternoon, December 28th, funeral services were conducted from the Carthage Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home with his longtime friend, Bro. Jimmy Gregory, officiating at the 1 p.m. service. Interment followed beside his wife in the Garden of Gethsemane at the Smith County Memorial Gardens.

Mr. Winfree was the seventh of ten children, seven sons and three daughters, and the last surviving child of the late Estes Gilleom (E.G.) Winfree, who died October 24, 1962 at the age of 67, and Ovie Mai Webster Winfree, who died November 27, 1963 at the age of 70.

The nine siblings preceding Mr. Winfree in death were Ray Winfree, Katie Winfree Eby, Irene Winfree Allison, who died in 2006 at the age of 89, Mary Lee Winfree Tabor, who died April 7, 2007 at the age of 82, Gordon Winfree Sr., who died April 3, 1998 at the age of 79, Paul Estes Winfree, who died May 19, 2009 at the age of 82, Jessie Neal Winfrey, who died January 3, 2013 at the age of 92, Crockett Robbins Winfree, who died March 17, 2013 at the age of 98, Haskell Winfree, who died June 21, 2013 at the age of 88.

In Rossville, Georgia on Saturday, February 19, 1949, Mr. Winfree was united in marriage to Rome community native, the former Alma Dale Ballinger, who preceded him in death on August 21, 2007 at the age of 76, following over fifty eight years of marriage. 

Mr. Winfree was a member of the Rome Baptist Church.

Surviving are his two daughters, Ethelene Winfree Johnson and husband, Ronnie, Sandra Winfree Holland and husband, Mark, all of the Rome community; two sons, Donnie Winfree and wife, Susanne, of Gordonsville, Tommy Winfree of Brush Creek; nine grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren.

The Winfree family requests memorials to either the American Heart Association or the Jordan Hackett Foundation.

SANDERSON of CARTHAGE