Ted Norman Winger

Ted N. Winger passed away on January 25, 2025, in Ronan, MT at 91 years old. A lifelong talented artist, he was born in Salt Lake City, UT in 1933, the son of Norman and Gayle Winger Sheneman, and older brother to Roy Winger, and Debra Winger Miller. The Winger family relocated from Utah to Montana, and settled in Polson on the East Shore, in a beautiful setting at the base of the mountains overlooking Flathead Lake.

Ted was quite an athlete at Polson High School where he played football, and basketball among other sports for the Pirates. He attended the University of Montana Western in Dillon, MT before marrying his high school sweetheart, Norma J. McAlear. They moved to Oregon in the late 1950's for him to attend the Museum Art School in Portland, Oregon.

Ted resided in Oregon for many years until he relocated back to Montana in Polson in the early 1990's where he married his 2nd wife, Kathryn (deceased). Ted truly loved Montana and Flathead Lake, and was inspired by its beauty, wildlife, and the western way of life, often to be the subject of his paintings. He also had a special kind of humor and would occasionally include that humor in some of his works of art.

For decades in Oregon, Ted was active in the arts communities in the Portland area. He taught art classes at local galleries, and at his art studio in his home. He was one of a group of community artists who helped to establish the original location of The Village Gallery of Arts, showcasing local artists in Portland.

Ted was not only an artist who loved to paint, he enjoyed designing homes and landscaping, and could provide his creative expertise to furnish homes. He was self-employed for many years with an interior design business specializing in window coverings. With an appreciation of music, he taught ballroom, and other forms of dance in Portland, and in Montana in the Polson and Kalispell areas with his late wife, Kathryn. He enjoyed good audio sound, especially listening to jazz, and loved to watch sports on television. He also loved a good cup of coffee.

Ted was the father of Rhonda Winger, Lisa Felzman (Joe), Kimberley Trobough (Tim), Trenton Winger, and had one granddaughter, Betsy Trobough. He was also the uncle to Kristen (Kiwi) Winger of Polson. From his marriage to Norma McAlear, he was the brother-in-law to Keith McAlear (Hazel), Eunice Thomas (William), and Carole Lovell (Bill). He had nieces and nephews who would remember him as Uncle Ted: Doug McAlear, Diane McAlear, Teresa Smith, Kirk Thomas, Kristen Fitzpatrick and an uncle to some that did not have the opportunity to know him.

Ted was beloved and will be greatly missed by his family and many who will remember him with his quiet, polite, and gentle manner. A service to lovingly honor the life of Ted will be held at a later date.