Winford Bland Dickens, September 12, 1925 – December 22, 2020
Winford Bland Dickens of Lake Gaston passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 22, 2020.
The fourth of nine children, he was born in Boykins, Virginia, but soon moved to NC, where he would spend his growing up years in Darlington, NC, affectionately known as “Buzzard Town.” Although a need to help his family would shorten his formal education, he never stopped learning.
The world was his classroom and the Golden Rule, his lesson plan.
He acquired a lasting taste for travel in 1944 when he joined the Merchant Marines, making numerous trips abroad during his four years of service.
Returning home, the simple purchase of a tube of toothpaste at the local five-and-dime would ultimately lead to a 71-year marriage to his precious Rose.
Together, they moved to Halifax, NC, where they joined forces to expand the grocery business Winford had begun the previous year.
Starting a family a few years later, Winford soon found himself outnumbered with a wife and three daughters but quickly learned to roll with the cycles.
Winford was known for taking great care of “his girls.”
Building on what he had learned from his grocery store experiences, he soon launched into a second business, coin-operated laundromats.
Selling the grocery store in 1982, he continued with the laundry businesses until fully retiring in 1990.
Winford’s faith played a large role in his everyday life and with an appreciation and recognition of what others had done for him along the way, it was important to him that he “pay-it-forward.” He was an active member of the Halifax Baptist Church early on and more recently the Calvary United Methodist Church for the past 40 years.
Over the years, his commitments to the community included service with the Halifax Volunteer Fire Department (where he served as Chief for several years), Weldon School Board, local BB&T Board of Directors, Royal White Hart Masonic Lodge, and the Roanoke Valley Shrine Club.
Time with family was always a priority, supporting his girls in whatever activities they undertook. Golf was a close second until he discovered the joys of Lake Gaston.
Here his love of family and outdoors came together and he enjoyed nothing more than family gatherings at the lake — Skiing, boating, and tubing with anybody who could keep up with him. As late as his 90th birthday, he could be seen taking a ride on the jet ski.
He cherished his family, his friends, and all the characters he met along the way.
Winford is preceded in death by his parents, James Raleigh and Lucy Warren Dickens; brothers, J.R. Dickens, Grady Dickens, and Aubrey Dickens; sisters, Lula Loflin, and Mary Elizabeth (Eib) Alford.
He is survived by his wife Rosa (Rose) Hearne Dickens; daughters Sherry and husband, Martin O’Dowd, Kim Cochrane, and Kelly Dickens; grandchildren, Patrick O’Dowd and wife, Emily Lago, Daniel O’Dowd, Clare O’Dowd, Ashley and husband, Greg Bair-Caruso, Courtney and husband, Andrew Moore, and Wesley Cochrane; great-grandchildren, Abigail Grace Ciriaco, Charis Rose Moore, Penelope Angela Moore, Milo Winford Moore and great-grandson due in January; brothers, Johnny Dickens, Perry and wife, Hortense Dickens; sister Peggy and husband, Dean Auten; sister-in-law, Gert Hearne Kennedy, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Graveside services will be held at Calvary United Methodist Church cemetery on Saturday, January 2, 2021 at 2:00 PM. Family will greet visitors after the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Calvary United Methodist Church (136 Calvary Church Rd., Littleton, NC 27850) or the Shriners Hospitals for Children (2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607).