Obituary: Corinne Winchell

January 19, 1923 – December 3, 2022

Corinne Winchell, courtesy photo

Corinne Winchell – born Corinne Eleanor Appel to Theodore and Amelia Appel of Dixwell Avenue, Hamden, Connecticut, on January 19, 1923 – passed away on December 3, 2022, at Heaton Woods in Montpelier, Vermont. 

In recent conversations, Corinne revealed that she felt she had not accomplished much or traveled far during her life. Yet, like anyone who lives to 99 years and 11 months of age, her life was well-lived. 

She met Bob Winchell at American Steel and Wire in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1943 – with marriage following a few months later in March 1944. The Winchells traveled to and resided in University City, St. Louis, Missouri; Thomasville, Georgia; Hopkinton, Rhode Island, and then returned to Connecticut where memories abounded of life at Rogers Lake in Old Lyme. 

While raising three children, Corinne and Bob often traveled to New York City and enjoyed afternoon dancing at the Taft Hotel to the likes of Sammy Kaye, Les Elgart, and Vaughn Monroe. 

There were boating trips – numerous weekend outings to coastal towns along the shoreline of southern New England and Long Island – such as a summer trip along the coastline to Bar Harbor, Maine, plus an excursion from Connecticut through the Intracoastal Waterway to Hollywood, Florida. Corinne also enjoyed travels to Rome, the Bahamas, and Cornwall, England. 

In 1978, Corinne and Bob moved to Waterbury, Vermont, where she resided until her death. 

Corinne once said she never fully appreciated all that Vermont offered … but enjoyed several years working at Edson Hill Manor in Stowe. Later, she worked as a secretary for an accountant in Montpelier, retiring at the age of 86. After retirement, she volunteered weekly at the state police office in Waterbury and the Waterbury Food Shelf. 

Among many interests, she was happiest when she was sketching the scenery around her, puttering with her plants, or figuring out how things worked. She was fascinated by the construction of a lobster’s shell and enjoyed trying to reroot near-dead houseplants. 

Corinne was predeceased by her husband of 56 years, Robert Wallace Winchell, in 1999, and by her brother Irving Appel in 1968. She is survived by her children: Kent Winchell and his family of Old Lyme, Connecticut; Kim Winchell and his family of Ivoryton, Connecticut; and Kia Lynn Winchell Nealy and her husband of Waterbury Center. 

Thank you to the staff and caregivers at Heaton Woods Residence in Montpelier for keeping Corinne warm and comfortable.