Jason John Winter, 49

Jason John Winter, age 49 of Marquette and formerly of New Hampton, passed away on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023, at the Crossing Rivers Health Medical Center in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

Jason was born January 7, 1974, to John and Mary (Galligan) Winter in New Hampton.

Jason went to St. Joseph school in New Hampton, Iowa through the eighth grade and then went on to New Hampton High School where he graduated in 1992. He was proud of his basketball talent and received many honors. 

Jason played basketball at Waldorf and then went on to Wartburg to continue his basketball career and graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social work. 

After college, he went to the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Law Enforcement Academy located at Camp Dodge in Iowa. 

Upon completion of the academy, he was hired as a gaming enforcement officer for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.  Later Jason was promoted to Special Agent II and served all 27 years of his career in the Marquette office.  He also coached girls’ varsity basketball for MFL MarMac  — starting as an assistant and becoming head coach in 2017.  He won multiple conference titles and also coach of the year.  Jason was selected a few months ago to be inducted into the New Hampton High School Athlete Hall of Fame.  

On July 27, 1996, Jason was united in marriage with Kelly Deutsch at St. Mary Catholic Church in New Hampton. Three children were born to this union.

In addition to his career and love for basketball, he found time to relax and enjoy the river.  Jason loved to fish, chat with his neighbors, and spend quality time with his family.  When he wasn’t at the river, he was an avid pickle ball player.

If you knew Jason, he was always there for other people. If you needed him, he was there. He loved to give back to his community. He had that giving personality, even with his family. He always did what others wanted first (most of the time!). That was something he loved to do, was help others. He also loved to play cards and cheer on the Hawks. I don’t think he ever missed a Hawkeye sporting event whether he was there or watching it on TV.

He loved spending time with his dog Oakley and going for runs, which he was avidly getting back into.

He was also a big family guy, wouldn’t miss an event of his children and loved spending quality time with his family, whether that be going on vacations, long road trips, river time, or playing cards.

Anything Jason did was with a competitive attitude, you couldn’t play or do anything with Jason without making it a competition.

Surviving Jason are his wife, Kelly Winter of Marquette; children, Blake (Kiersten) Winter of Monona, Bailey Winter of Marquette, and Blair Winter of Marquette; his parents, John and Mary Winter of Marquette; sister and brother-in-law, Jackie and Adrian “Chip” McGeough of Marquette; brother-in-law, Jason Deutsch of Altoona; and nieces and nephews, Rosemary, Gabe, Quinn and Macy McGeough and Jackson Deutsch.

Jason was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Leo “Pete” and Lucy Winter; maternal grandparents, Duane and Celine Galligan; and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Jerome and Kathryn Deutsch.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, at St. Mary Catholic Church in McGregor from 2 to 8 p.m. with a Public Rosary starting at 1:30 p.m. and a Time for Sharing Memories starting at 6 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, at 10:30 am at the MFL MarMac High School Gymnasium in Monona, with a Eulogy starting at 10 a.m. before mass time. The Rev. Martin Coolidge will be the celebrant and will be assisted by concelebrating priests.

Burial will follow at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in McGregor with Full Law Enforcement Honors, with a luncheon to follow.

The family requests that those attending the Celebration of Life and the Mass of Christian Burial, refrain from wearing the color black and to wear brights colors in honor of Jason.

In lieu of flowers and other mementos, memorials may be directed to the family for a future scholarship in memory of Jason.

Leonard-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Monona, Iowa, is in charge of arrangements.