Claudette McFarland Winstead, 66, an attorney and sociologist who devoted much of her life to civic and humanitarian organizations, died of complications from pneumonia Wednesday, Feb. 13, in her home. Mrs. McFarland Winstead always believed that a person had to raise herself up because others couldn’t do it for her, said her daughter, Claudette Winstead-Thomas. In a time when African-American women weren’t encouraged to succeed, she never had any doubt she would and made sure she got the education to do so. She earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Illinois. It was in law school that she met her husband, Vernon Winstead. After moving to Chicago, they opened the consulting firm McFarland Enterprises. While helping run that business, Mrs. McFarland Winstead also worked as a real estate agent. A devoted Roman Catholic, she worked with the NAACP, Operation PUSH, the Chicago Urban League, the National Council of Black Women and the National Council of Jewish Women. In 1976, Gov. Daniel Walker asked her to serve on the state’s Equal Rights Amendment planning committee. Her work earned her an invitation to the White House, where she met President Jimmy Carter. The honor was one of many she received in her life, but she was never content to stop working. Though slowed by illness in her later years, Mrs. McFarland Winstead continued to encourage and inspire others to better their families and communities, her daughter said. In addition to her husband and daughter, Mrs. McFarland Winstead is survived by a son, Vernon Winstead Jr.; and a granddaughter. Funeral services have been held.
