Funeral Services for Carol Ann Winn, 61, set for Monday, May 21, 2012

By Chinta Strausberg

 

Memorial services for Carol Ann Winn, 61, who passed on May 7, 2012 at her South Side home will be held 1 p.m. Monday, May 21, 2012, at Christ Universal Temple Faith Chapel, 11901 S. Ashland Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60643.

Winn, who was the only child born to Lula Bell Winn on October 31, 1950 in Nashville, TN, was among the first African Americans to attended the segregated elementary and high schools in Nashville. Having been accepted at Hampton University, she later transferred to Norfolk State University where she earned her Bachelors of Science in social work in 1972.

There, Winn became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Winn worked as a houseparent at the Monroe Harding Children’s Home and completed her Masters of Social Work at the University of Tennessee in 1981.

A lifetime advocate for families and children, Winn retired from Ada S. McKlinley where she served as the director of Foster Care from 1989 to 2009 when she retired.

However, Winn had spent most of her professional career as an accomplished social worker fighting on behalf of families and children. She began her professional career with Planned Parenthood in Nashville, Tennessee.

Winn moved to Chicago where she began working at the Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Community Mental Health Center. She later worked at the Sadie Waterford Manor as a social worker.  She established a private practice as a therapist.

Winn also worked at the Accounters Community Center, the University of Chicago’s Parent Health and Infant Essex House at the Mary Bartelme Homes, but where ever she worked, Winn was a beacon of light for both her profession and her service to children, and she often traveled nationally and internationally sharing her vision for quality services for children in foster care. She always urged her peers to adopt her philosophy of compassion and excellence in foster care services.

Always active outside of her profession, Winn was a member of numerous organizations, committees and boards including: the National Association of Black Social Workers where she was immediate past president, the National Association of Social Workers, the International Foster Care Organization, the African American Family Commission, and the Southeast Community Youth Services Board.

Additionally, Winn also served on a number of advisory committees at the Northern Illinois University, the Chicago State University, the Chicago Sexual Assault Services Network, ABJ Community Services, Inc., Coordinating Opportunities for Parenting Education, and the Community Mental Health Council’s Professional Advisory Board. She was also a consultant for the Chicago Urban League and the Center for Successful Childhood Development.

Winn was the recipient of a number of honors and awards including being a 2009 recipient of the NASW Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2007 Phenomenal Woman Award from Chicago’s Black Women Expo. In touching the lives of many, what ever Winn was involved in she helped changed and mold the practice of helping people. She was a social change agent whom everybody loved.

An avid reader, Winn relished in discussing and debating books authored by Octavia Butler, Toni Morrison or Walter Moseley. She was a founding member of the Sisterhood, a book club group of professional black women who since 1982 met monthly.  Winn also enjoyed the creative side of life having been a color of African American and African art she so proudly displayed in her home.

She was a walking fashion plate. Her attire of various tribal fashions was a showcase of her pride and knowledge of the Mother Land. Her home was filled with the soulful sounds of artists like Nina Simone. Music filtered through speakers she had in every room in her South Shore home.

Winn loved the theatre as well as African American history, and by example she taught others to love their culture and African American heritage especially her annual elaborate Kwanzaa celebrations.

A spiritual woman, Winn spent a great deal of time cultivating her knowledge of theology and always tried to encourage her friends and acquaintances to explore new experiences and ways of thinking.

Winn leaves to mourn her daughter, Tya Carol, her son, Jonathan Andrew David, her beloved pets, Snickers and Jolie; her aunt, Betty Foster; her uncles: John Winn and Thomas Mullins; and a host of devoted cousins, extended family and close friends. Her beloved “M’Dear” Lula Bell Winn preceded her in death.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host. You can e-mail Strausberg at: Chintabernie@aol.com.