Helen Dee Winzer

Helen Dee Winzer, 95, of Groveton, formerly of Winnie, died Friday, August 4, 2023. She was born on September 4, 1927, in Douglas, Texas, to Henry and Elsie Mae Harrison.

Helen was born into a farming family. She would tell stories about how her and her family would hitch up a wagon and sell produce at the local markets. However, Helen wanted more. At the age of 15, she left home and moved in with her sister Lillie Mae and began attending business school. After graduating, she began working as a secretary at a local car dealership. This is where she would meet W.J. He would come in to get his car washed just to talk to her. After months of courting, she finally said yes. In 1949, they were married and moved to Winnie. Together, they would open a dealership, invest in multiple ventures, and eventually begin farming. They worked together as a team through both the good years and hardships.

After starting a family, Helen worked towards helping both her husband keep track of his scraps of paper he worked on to keep him organized and raising 3 children. She once stated it was the best years of her life. She learned that being a wife and mother was sometimes difficult. Her children would drive her to the brink of sanity. They would argue, fight, and pick on each other, but still protected each other. However, they were a family. To escape, she would go shopping with her friends Ms. Doris and Ms. Alma. She learned to sew; however, she hated cooking. She would talk about how when she first got married, her and Jay bought groceries and by the end of the day, she had burnt all of it. However, when she had grandchildren, she would start cooking roast, rice, and gravy every Sunday to bring the family together after church.

Later, they would begin traveling the world. They went to Scotland, multiple countries in Europe, and eventually Helen went to Australia.

After Jay passed away, she proved that she was stronger than anyone knew. She continued to be the head of the family and every person went to her for advice.

Later in life, her grandchildren began bonding with her in a way that would change their lives. They would visit to tell her stories about their children and life, dress up in her clothes, and listen as she told the funniest stories about what she had seen, done, and what it was like raising their parents. Hours were spent listening and laughing. Eventually, her great-grandchildren would come to feel that her house was a second home.

The greatest lesson that she taught her family was to have strength in themselves. Life could be chaotic, but that they were survivors.

Her words and love will be missed by all.

Survivors include her brother, Harlen Harrison; sister-in-law, Verna Mae Harrison;  son, Larry Winzer Sr. and daughter-in-law, LaNell; daughter, Becky Hungerford and son-in-law, Richard; daughter-in-law, Patty Winzer; granddaughter, Amanda Way and spouse, Christopher; grandson, Larry Glenn Winzer Jr. and spouse, Danyell; granddaughter, Tanya LeVeck and spouse, Michael; granddaughter, Renee Odom and spouse, JC; grandson, Loyd Winzer and spouse, Rachel; grandson, Richard Gray Hungerford and spouse, Miriam; granddaughter, Samantha Winzer; and her great-grandchildren, Jonah, Morgan, Dakota, Ty, Dylan, Jennifer, Iris, Jaicee, Madison, Hayden, Wyatt, Oliver, Timothy, Vivian, and John.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Mae Harrison; husband, W.J. Winzer; brother, Charles “Red” Harrison; sister, Lillie Mae Stevens; and son, Micheal Winzer.

A gathering of Mrs. Winzer’s family and friends will be from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Monday, August 7, 2023, at Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont. Her funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, August 8, 2023, at Broussard’s, with her interment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Beaumont.