Elisabeth Winter, an interior decorator and former pilot who flew with the Civil Air Patrol in World War II, died Monday, Oct. 9, of lung cancer in Antigua, Guatemala, a few hours before her 80th birthday. Mrs. Winter “was a fantastic, self-reliant woman when it was not traditional for women to be that way,” said her son, Bill Winter. She grew up on a farm in the east-central Illinois town of Casey, the daughter of a World War I aerial reconnaissance pilot. After the war, with airplanes still a novelty, Mrs. Winter often flew with her father as he delighted his neighbors by barnstorming. “For a kid then, to be able to get in one of those planes and to see your hometown from way in the air, it made a big impact on her,” her son said. At age 16, she obtained a pilot’s license. Mrs. Winter earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1941. According to her son, she was the first woman to fly with the Civil Air Patrol early in the war. In 1942, she married her husband of 47 years, the late Richard Winter. Mrs. Winter worked for Eastern Airlines in the ticketing department after striking up a friendship with Eddie Rickenbacker, the World War I ace who founded the company. She then worked for about four years as a buyer for Carson Pirie Scott. In 1959, she and her sister-in-law began an interior-decorating firm, Lisbon Interiors of Lake Forest. She traveled the world to find items, from fireplaces to knickknacks, for her clients. The Lake Forest resident continued with the company until her death, her son said. Mrs. Winter is also survived by a daughter, Barbara Winter Jonkey; a brother, Sam Young; a sister, Marcia Houser; and three grandchildren. A service is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday in First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, 700 N. Sheridan Rd., Lake Forest.
