On February 2, 1967, the Medical Office of the Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America sent a letter to Ralph and Roberta Winter at their home in South Pasadena, California.  The writer is Mrs. Bonnie Barnum and she says that Mrs. Constance Smith, who is not in this office anymore, sent the Winters a reminder about getting their physical examination reports in to this office.  They had replied to the reminder stating that they would be able to send the forms in by the end of December.  It is February by now, and the medical office staff realize how very fast time passes, but they really would like to have the forms in.  Mrs. Barnum mentions, “Dr. Scovel will look them over and send you recommendations which will also take time and then it will be time to send you final papers for medical clearance for return to the field.”  So the sooner they send them in, the easier it will be for everyone.  If the Winters send their forms in by the end of the current month, they will have one month’s time to complete the recommendations before Mrs. Barnum sends them the final papers.  This is cutting it fairly close.

Roberta Winter wrote a note three days later to Dr. Fidellis and gives him the forms to fill out.  She asks for the two half-sheets with the note at the top to please be returned to her at home.  The others the doctor is to send to Dr. Theodore Stevenson at COEMAR in New York City.  Roberta remarks, “We are sorry there is so much, but will be glad to pay additional for your time, if necessary.  Thank you.”

 

In remembrance of the seventh anniversary of Dr. Ralph Winter’s death today, here is another series of photographs of him with his first wife Roberta this time.  They were taken in different years throughout their lives together.

 

 

 

 

Ralph and Roberta Winter received a letter from Ralph Winter’s friend going back to his youth, Dan Fuller.  It is dated November 25, 1994.  He begins by saying that he knows through their mutual friend Phil Foxwell that the Winters or some of their people have been interceding during the severe time of testing Fuller has gone through in the last 20 days as a Fuller Evangelistic Association board member.  The spiritual battle appears to be over now.

He is returning his focus to getting his manuscript Overcoming the Great Omission published.  Baker Book may be interested.  He has reached the point of needing an illustration suitable for the Inter Varsity types who help make up his present constituency of “walking in the light,” or deliberating on a possible decision by gathering all the possible relevant facts in mind first.  The vision ought to be panoramic rather than tunnel.  In an earlier draft, Fuller used a Readers’ Digest story about how to decide whether it is better to lease or buy a car, and another earlier one on whether it is wiser to obtain a fixed rate mortgage on a house or one with variable rates.  Nonetheless, neither of these illustrations are fitting for college students.  He writes to Winter, “From a long time ago I remember how you were about to go to Columbia University for grad work in anthropology, but then you found out something that made you switch to Cornell.  That sort of a decision does apply to Inter Varsity types!”

So Fuller asks his friend Ralph if he would be so kind as to take three minutes to call him on the telephone to tell him three or four elements in that decision that would be useful.  Fuller will copy it down on his laptop computer so Winter will not have to say it twice, and since he has to finish his manuscript by the end of the day on November 29, Fuller will not try to spend any of Winter’s time talking about other matters.  Prior to his signature he calls himself “Your friend from way back.”

Since variety is the spice of life, this post will be pictorial rather than textual with a series of photos of Dr. Ralph Winter at different ages throughout his life.  Specifically these cover him as a child, a teenager, a man of marrying age, a middle aged man and a senior citizen.  Enjoy this chronological collage!