Louis "Louie" C. Winskowski

The Mass of Christian burial, celebrating the life of Louis “Louie” C. Winskowski, age 94 of St. Cloud, will be 1:00 PM, Saturday, January 25 at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in St. Cloud. Louie died on January 11 at the Good Shepherd Nursing Home in Sauk Rapids. There will be a visitation at noon on Saturday, January 25 at the Church in St. Cloud. Arrangements are being made by the Miller-Carlin Funeral Homes.

Louie was born the youngest of 12 children on October 2, 1930, in Holdingford to Stanley and Blanche (Kollodge) Winskowski. He graduated from high school and moved to St. Cloud, where he reconnected with his childhood sweetheart, LaDonna Machnikowski, having known her since she was 8 years old. The two were married on July 11, 1953, in the Church of St. Anthony in St. Cloud. Louie started working with Stearns Manufacturing when it was a small company, and it eventually became well-known for modernizing the life jackets we use today. He continued working at Stearns Manufacturing until he retired as the plant manager in the mid-1980s. He was also a part of the initial start-up crew of the St. Cloud Volunteer Township Fire Department and was extremely proud to have served 25 years before retiring with the rank of Lieutenant. He was an active member of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, especially being part of the Bouja crew. Louie was an avid book reader, Westerns being his favorite. He was also an avid hunter and fisherman, spending countless hours creating memories in his boat “Lucky Lou.”                                 

Louie is survived by his children, Greg (Denielle) Winskowski, Blackduck; Louis (Mary) Winskowski Jr, Sauk Rapids; Terri (Rick) Green, Sauk Rapids; Paul (Pam) Winskowski, Cold Spring; and Jean (Donald) Jund, Andover. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren, Heather, Dawn, Ayla, Louis III, Lori, Michael, Christine, Daniel, Matthew, Paul Jr., Lucas, Keegan, Don Jr., Tony, and 18 great-grandchildren.

Louie is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Donna on December 12, 2022, his daughter, Annie Kilian, grandson, Keegan Brink, and his siblings.

The family would like to thank Moments Hospice and the Silver Bay Team at the Good Shepherd Nursing Home for their care of Louie. The family would like to also thank Care Giver, Sue Noehring for her loving attention she gave to our dad.