BASEBALL
Winter added that being involved with the symposium allowed him to introduce a bit of white collar into what was traditionally a blue collar network by teaching marketing and public relations skills, and raising awareness of the skill and professionalism of sports field managers. He has also used the symposium and the networking opportunity it provides to encourage and mentor young sports field managers.
Now, in retirement, Winter hopes to stay involved with the symposium and with the industry, and has had discussions with Major League Baseball about mentoring and continuing to give back to the industry.
MOVING FORWARD But before he delves into future opportunities, Winter plans to take some time to slow down the pace of life.
“ I’ ve spent the last 40-plus years raising three sons and then getting into pro ball,” he said.“ I’ ve been racing and running, and I’ m literally slowing down. It’ s been almost a year and a half since my wife died. That has changed my future. It has changed my outlook. But I’ m going to keep pressing forward, and I’ m excited for the future.”
Kathy Winter passed away May 3, 2024, following a multiyear battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis( ALS), more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’ s disease.
“ It took her five years to transition into empty nesting,” Keith said.“ Once she did, the next 10 years were unbelievable. We built our downtown condo in a 140-year-old building from the ground up. We took on this beautiful
project, and we shared so much joy. I’ m so thankful for the time we had.”
Kathy and Keith were open about sharing Kathy’ s story, and their journey in faith, with others.
“ Our position was gratitude. Because if you live by faith and walk by faith, when you get dealt a tough hand, you can’ t say,‘ woe is me,’” Keith added.“ ALS is miserable. I hated it then, and I still hate it now. But that was the hand we were dealt, and I dealt with it the best way that I could. The goal was for her life to be an inspiration, and we did that well. And now I believe the best is yet to come.
“ I was a forward mover. I’ m still a forward mover. God has something more planned, and I’ m going to keep moving forward until my last breath. She showed me how to do that in death, and I surely owe that to her to do that in life. We had plans, but plans sometimes change. Now I will move forward with a new plan, and look forward to that coming to fruition.”
Keith is looking forward to spending time reconnecting with his five grandchildren, and just embracing the laughter and time with family and friends.
“ I’ m going to slow down, I’ m going to take it easy, and then I’ m going to see what opportunities God puts in my path,” he said.“ I’ m going to be content with whatever comes my way.”
[ Editor’ s note: To help in the fight against ALS, please visit https:// www. als. org /] sportsfieldmanagementonline. com November 2025 | SportsField Management
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