Robert W. Winsor

Robert Winsor died peacefully on June 12, 2016. He was 87 years old.

Bob worked for five decades as a lawyer, judge, and mediator and arbitrator. With his wife Joyce he raised four children, and he had many dear friends. From five years after Joyce’s death in 1994 to the end of his life, he enjoyed a second marriage, with Valerie Yockey. Bob lived with exceptional kindness and integrity, treating others with unfailing goodwill and respect, and often amused his family and friends with his gentle wit.

Bob brought to his work a passion for the law and civil rights. Early in his career, from 1954 to 1972, he practiced law privately, focusing on family law. For 11 years during this time he served on the board of the Washington State chapter of the ACLU, including one term as president. In 1972, Governor Dan Evans appointed Bob as a trial judge for the Superior Court of the State of Washington for King County. Bob held this seat for 15 years; he was presiding judge from 1986 to 1987. That year he was elected to the Court of Appeals, Division I. He sat on this court until his retirement from the bench in 1991. Next he joined Seattle’s Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS), an innovative, cost-saving approach to resolving legal disputes, as an arbitrator and mediator. He also served on the state Clemency and Pardons Board for three four-year terms, having been appointed by Governors Lowry, Locke, and Gregoire.

Bob was an engaged and principled jurist and a keen listener, known to trial lawyers as fair- and open-minded. In 2006, Bob received the William L. Dwyer Outstanding Jurist award for the ways in which he “ennobled and improved the administration of justice.” The award praised Bob’s “exemplary judicial demeanor” and his commitment to ensuring that court proceedings were fair, efficient, and understandable to all—especially to non-lawyers.

Bob had a rich life outside of work; he loved music, theater, dancing, and time in the wilderness. He sang tenor in the East Shore Unitarian Church choir for most of his adult life and contributed beautiful harmonies at family folk sings. He avidly backpacked and played tennis, squash, and racket ball—activities that led to decades-long friendships, which he cherished.

Born on July 26, 1928 in Mitchell, South Dakota, Bob graduated from high school in Faribault, Minnesota, and earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Minnesota. In 1951, he married Joyce Leversee. In 1953, he and Joyce drove from Minneapolis to Seattle and settled on Mercer Island, where they raised their four children, Amanda, Drew, Doug, and Michael.

In 1994, after 43 years of marriage, Joyce passed away. In 2000, Bob married Valerie, whom he and Joyce had known through the East Shore Unitarian Church choir. For many years, he and Valerie enjoyed traveling and sharing their love of music and the arts.

Bob is survived by Valerie and her son Chris and his wife, Jen; Valerie’s son Nick; and her grandchildren, Grace, Elizabeth, and Natalie. Bob is also survived by his three children: Amanda Rose and her husband, Ryan; Drew Winsor; Doug Winsor and his wife, Nell Lake; and five grandchildren: Peter Rose; Anna Keene-Winsor and Luke Winsor; and Galen and Jordan Winsor. Preceding him in death were Joyce (1994) and his son Michael (1997).

All are welcome to join family and friends in a celebration of Bob’s life: July 24, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. East Shore Unitarian Church, 12700 SE 32nd Street, Bellevue WA 98005

In lieu of flowers, his family suggests that remembrances be made to the American Civil Liberties Union.