Winfred Cassell

Winfred “Wimpy” Rudolph Cassell, age 86, was a great, big, bear-hug of a man with a giant heart to match. He liked to say he never started a fight, yet he never ran from one either and he never got “whooped.” Cancer was the only battle he could not win, and he lost the fight courageously on May 25 with family by his side.

Born in the hills of Kentucky, Winfred was the first of 5 children. As a young boy, his family settled in Knoxville, Tennessee where he attended Inskip Elementary and where the Great Smoky Mountains became his playground. From the age of 10, Winfred would run to Shields-Watkins Field on game days to sell hot dogs in the now Neyland Stadium making him a lifelong Tennessee Volunteers fan.

At Central High School, Winfred excelled in baseball and softball, sang in the school choir, and participated in social clubs. After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. A proud veteran, he completed basic training at Lackland AFB and was stationed at Chennault AFB in Lake Charles, Louisiana where he served as an airplane mechanic. He also played first baseman on the Chennault AFB softball team, flying around the country and competing in base tournaments, ultimately winning the Strategic Air Command National Championship in 1959.

While in Lake Charles, he met and married his first wife, Betty, and the two had four children. After their divorce, Winfred moved to Atlanta to work at Lockheed. He then became an organizer for the Textile Workers Union of America through the early 1970s, traveling to plants across the south for nearly five years. Bringing an understanding of both labor and management, he joined the Arrow Shirt Company as a warehouse manager where he retired.

In 1969, Winfred married Judy, an elementary school classmate he used to trade comic books with. Judy and her two daughters moved to Atlanta and the couple filled their summers with blended family vacations. Winfred and Judy loved the Florida panhandle beaches where they would snorkel for treasures, and their beloved Smoky Mountains with Townsend being a favorite spot. They enjoyed 54 years of marriage before her passing.

To his family, Winfred was a good listener and an even better storyteller. He carried living history and shared tall tales, most all of them true. He had a wicked sense of humor and was quick to entertain with a wisecrack or a joke. Winfred was also a great cook, a fun dancer, and an exceptional singer with a sweet, soft, high voice. He enjoyed golf (left-handed), fishing, and rooting for the Atlanta Braves. He loved all animals and was especially kind to strays keeping food at the ready for cats and pups who landed on his doorstep and feeders for the birds. A big kid at heart, he had a magical way with children earning the title of “baby whisperer” by his family.

Winfred was preceded in death by his wife, parents, and two brothers. He is survived by a sister, a brother, 4 children, 2 stepdaughters, several grandchildren and great grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

His remains will be interred at Georgia National Cemetery, a resting place for veterans where the family will hold a private ceremony.