Anne Katherine (Rike) Winstead

"Come and take it" … And indeed on September 16, 2023, the Lord did come and take Anne Katherine Rike Winstead home to her great reward, as she affectionately called it.

Anne Katherine, "Katie", was a fifth-generation Texan born to a Haskell, Texas ranching family on May 26, 1931 in the throes of the Great Depression. Her parents, John Samuel Rike II and Agnes Cox Rike reared her in the ways of family connection and small-town values. Many were the stories of family gatherings that she frequently recalled as a passing on of family history and lore. Some were perhaps embellished for the sake of holding the audience's attention. Her crowning educational moment in high school was winning the Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award, and she frequently reminded her sons of her esteemed accomplishment.

Katie would continue her education first at Texas Tech in Home Economics, then transferred to Baylor University to study education. At Baylor she was a member of Delta Alpha Phi Sorority, which later became a chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. Upon graduation, she was hired by the Port Arthur School District to teach. It was in Port Arthur where she met Texaco chemist Richard Lowe Winstead and their courtship began. They were married on July 3, 1955. The arrival of sons Stephen Marcus and John Richard transitioned her career from the classroom to guiding her sons at home.

In 1962 the family was transferred to the Hudson River Valley of New York State for Dick's career. Katie's world opened with great opportunities in New York. A Texas enclave connected with Texaco kept her Texas heart aflame. Membership in D.A.R. deepened her passion for genealogy. The P.E.O. Sisterhood connected her with friends far and wide as they worked to provide scholarship money for young women. The opportunities to travel into New York City and take in all the available arts and culture thrilled her.

In 1979 Dick requested a transfer back to Port Arthur and a life of early retirement started in the early 1980s for both Dick and Katie. A large portion of this time involved both of them in the role of grandparents to Andrew and Daniel and later to Cora, Seth, Jessica, Devon and Dakota. Layered in were opportunities to travel and the pursuit of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) rank of Life Master, first for Dick, with Katie as his partner, and then for Katie, with Dick as her partner.

Katie also embraced her role of Chief Supporter and Encourager to her husband through his health challenges beginning in the early 1980s. She learned the ropes of the Houston Medical Center and all the latest protocols to increase Dick's lifespan until November of 2009, when Dick predeceased her.

In 2004 Dick and Katie moved to the Lake Forest Retirement Village in Denton to begin a new life near son John. Following Dick's death in 2009, Katie continued an independent life in Denton. In October of 2021 a health event precipitated her moving to Fredericksburg where John had relocated.

Katie was a great conversationalist with wide and varied interests.  She was:

Member of Chapter BK, P. E. O.
Life member of NSDAR (National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution), Melzingah Chapter, Beacon, New York
Life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA)
Life member of the Winstead Family Reunion
Life member of the Historical Society of Port Arthur
Member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority

Katie was Texan to the core. She maintained her passion for ranching and her love for Haskell. She kept abreast of crop production and the latest updates on farming. Mixed in with current ranch news were always the stories from her youth of the ranching life.

She is preceded in death by her beloved husband whom she has missed every day for the past 14 years, along with her parents and many other beloved relatives and friends. She is survived by her sons, Steve and John, along with daughters by marriage, Amy, Windi, and Kelly, grandchildren Andrew, Daniel (Antonia), Cora (Andrew), Seth (Jordie), Jessica, Devon and Dakota. Also surviving her is her brother, John Samuel Rike III and his wife, Mary, nephews Fred (Kim) and James (Julie) and their children.

Anne Katherine's life will be celebrated at First Methodist Church Haskell, TX on Thursday, September 28th at 1:00 pm, with Rev. Dusty Garrison officiating. Burial will follow the service at Willow Cemetery under the direction of Smith Family Funeral Homes, Haskell.  After the services a reception will be held at the Jones Cox building.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her memory to:
First Methodist Church
201 N Ave F
Haskell, TX 79521

or to:

Madam Brett Homestead

c/o Melzingah Chapter NSDAR

50 Van Nydeck Avenue

Beacon, NY 12508

Online condolences can be shared with the family at www.smithfamilyfh.com.