Hanna Winter

Hanna Winter (nee Fabisch), beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away at age 97 on March 9, 2022, following a long illness. Hanna was born in Breslau, Germany (now known as Wroclaw, Poland) on February 19, 1925. At the age of 12, she was forced to end her formal education due to Nazi persecution, and along with her parents and older brother, fled to Shanghai, China. There, she and her family were able to survive WWII and Japanese occupation of the city. Hanna met and ultimately married fellow refugee Oscar Winter in Shanghai in February 1945 and had their first son, Henry, four years later. Following the Chinese Communist takeover of Shanghai in 1949, unable to get immediate permission to enter the US, Hanna, Oscar and baby Henry left Shanghai on a ship and train journey that took them to Montreal, Canada. In March 1951 they received an entry visa for the US, and moved to Cleveland, Ohio where an aunt and uncle of Oscar's lived. There Hanna tended home, gave birth to their second son, Steven, and raised their two boys. After 68 happy years of marriage, Oscar passed in 2013. At that time Hanna chose to stay in the Cleveland area and moved into Stone Gardens Assisted Living facility at Menorah Park, Beachwood. Hanna happily lived there until October 2020 when her health had declined to the point at which she required more skilled care. Henry and Steve arranged to move her to the Friendship Village Health Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan to be close to Henry. Hanna, a fighter to the end, survived bouts of COVID-19 in January and November, 2021 but ultimately succumbed to a variety of health concerns. Beloved wife of the late Oscar Winter; devoted mother of Henry (Ellen) Winter of Portage, MI and Steven (Wendy Levinson-Winter) Winter of Wyoming, OH; loving grandmother of Joshua, Shana (deceased), Jared and Jainie. Graveside services FOR FAMILY ONLY will be held with burial in Zion Memorial Park (Shaarey Tikvah section), Bedford Heights, Ohio. Contributions in memory of Hanna may be made to the Shana Winter Jewish Education Fund, c/o Temple B'nai Israel, P.O. Box 19666, Kalamazoo MI 49019 (templebnaiisrael.com). Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.bkbmc.com for the Winter family. Arrangements under the direction of Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel (216) 932-7900.