Georgia Lee Winzerling

Georgia Lee Kennedy Winzerling, 94, of North Little Rock passed away in her sleep on March 20, 2023, with family by her side.

She was born on October 30, 1928, in Miami, Oklahoma, to Oak Albert and Angeline Gokey Kennedy.  She is the Great Granddaughter of Quapaw Tribal Chief John Quapaw and Red Sun.  Georgia was a member of the Quapaw Nation and belonged to the Turtle Clan.

She grew up during the Great Depression on her family’s farm which was part of her family’s Indian Allotment.  She was educated at Haskell Institute, an Indian Boarding High School in Lawrence, Kansas. After finishing school, Georgia worked to save money for nursing school.  She graduated from Saint John’s School of Nursing in Joplin, Missouri, in 1955, obtaining her degree and becoming a Registered Nurse.

Not long after beginning her career at Saint John’s Hospital in Joplin, an Air Force recruiter came and talked to the nurses at the hospital.  The idea of seeing the world while working as an Air Force officer appealed to her.  After enlisting, Georgia was sent to Ardmore Air Force Base in southern Oklahoma in 1956.  While there she met Robert Alvin Winzerling, a young, fellow lieutenant, whom she out ranked.  Just like in the movies, the handsome pilot falls in love with the beautiful nurse.

They were married in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on June 17, 1957.  Later that year, they were stationed together in France. While in Europe, they travelled the continent. In 1958, they were station in West Germany.  There Georgia was Honorably Discharged from the Air Force as she and Robert started a family.  While in Germany, she gave birth to Robert Joseph, who was followed by Stephen William.  In 1960, the family was transferred back to the United States after which Georgia gave birth to Mary Angela. In 1970, a transfer to Arkansas enabled Georgia to see her family in Oklahoma and Missouri more often.  After her husband retired, they were able to enjoy traveling to many states, Mexico, and Europe.  Georgia also found great joy spending time with her grandchildren and watching them grow.

Georgia was a strong, independent woman who met the challenge of maintaining the household - through multiple transfers to North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Arkansas - and rearing her three young children with the help of a strong, Catholic school educational system while her husband was gone for months on end on numerous Air Force missions and three tours of duty in Vietnam.  When her children were in school, she enrolled in arts and crafts classes and developed wonderful hobbies. She learned to create needlepoint pillows and decor, ceramics, decoupage, and decorative cakes.  Her family especially enjoyed all the cakes which were truly delicious works of art.  Georgia did not particularly enjoy the routine of cooking evening meals, but she diligently prepared them for the love of her family and made wonderful meals.  She did, however, seem to enjoy making desserts; her cakes, cookies, fudge, and pies were incomparable culinary treasures for her family.

She is survived by her sister, Alberta Redeagle; sons, Robert (Marcella) and Stephen (Elizabeth); daughter, Mary Wallin (John); grandchildren, Gabriel, Kate, Claire, Anthony, Samuel, and Rebecca; brother-in-law, William Winzerling; sister-in-law, Florence Winzerling; nieces, Susan Adams (Gerry), Julie Patterson (David), Mary Laine Yarber, and Jennifer Schouten (Pieter); nephews, Tom Redeagle (Kathy), Paul Redeagle (Judy), Charles Yarber, and Jeffrey Winzerling (Meridith).

She is preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Robert Alvin Winzerling; her parents, Oak Albert and Angeline Kennedy; uncles, John Gokey, Ernest Gokey, Olin Gokey, and Lee Watson; aunts, Evelyn Gokey, Margarite “Hank” Gokey, and Clara Gokey; brothers-in-law, John Redeagle, John Winzerling, Reverend James Winzerling, and Robert E. Yarber; sister-in-law, Mary Roberta Yarber; nephews, Michael Redeagle, Gregory Redeagle, Christopher Adams, and Robert D. Yarber.

A special thank you from all of the family to Mary and John Wallin for taking care of Georgia in the final years of her life; a life well lived.

Visitation is scheduled on Friday, March 31, at Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home from 5:30 PM to 6:30PM with a Rosary following at 6:30 PM.  Mass of Christian Burial will be at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Saturday, April 1, at 10:00 AM. Interment with military honors will follow at Rest Hills Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be in memory of Georgia to St. Joseph’s Indian School at www.stjo.org.

Arrangements by Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main St., North Little Rock, AR.  72114.  501-758-1170.