RICHMOND—Lois C. Winstead, 92, peacefully departed this life on Saturday, March 10, 2018, at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond. She was the third of 11 children born into a family grounded in abundant love and abiding faith. She lived a full and beautiful life that was devoted to family, Christian service and educational excellence.
At an early age, Lois dedicated her life to Christ and was baptized at Calvary Baptist Church, Kilmarnock. She was a faithful member as evident in her lifetime participation in the Calvary Baptist Church Senior Missionary Society, the Calvary Gospel Chorus and Senior Choir, vacation Bible school, the Northern Neck Baptist Women’s Missionary and Educational Commission, and the Lott Carey Foreign Mission.
Lois attended Northumberland County Public Schools and graduated from Julius Rosenwald High School in 1943. It was her love of education that led her to enroll at Morgan State University, formerly known as Morgan State College, in Baltimore, Md. She graduated in 1950 with a bachelor’s in home economics. She retired in 1989 with 37 years of service having taught generations of families at Julius Rosenwald High School, Rehoboth, formerly known as Anna T. Jeanes, Lottsburg, Callao and Fairfields Elementary schools.
In 1952, Lois was joined in holy matrimony to Thomas C. Winstead. From that union was born her only child, June A. Winstead.
Her love of the community resulted in Lois becoming an active member in the Lancaster-Northumberland Retired Teachers Association and the local chapter of the national Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc.
Lois is predeceased by her loving husband, Thomas C. Winstead; her parents, James and Maria S. Caster; and two brothers, Robert J. Caster and Herman P. Caster.
She leaves to cherish her memory, her beloved daughter, June; four sisters, Ruth Ball, Marian Geason, Dorothy Caster and Patricia Caster; four brothers, Willis H. Caster, Edmond Caster, John Henry O. Caster and Benjamin R. Caster; two sisters-in-law, Rosetta Caster and Otella Caster; numerous nieces and nephews; and a host of other loving relatives and friends.
