Winnifred B. Strobel

Winnifred Baldwin (née Seeley) Strobel (1929-2022) died on Friday, August 5, 2022 at the age of 92. She is survived by her four children (Cynthia Franson & husband Steve, Peter, Jeffrey & partner Maureen, and Christian & wife Tiffany), six grandsons (Christopher Franson, Shaun Franson, Matthew Franson, Jason Franson, Connor Strobel, and Christian Strobel), and three great-grandchildren (Olivia Franson, Benjamin Franson, and Brooklyn Franson). Mrs Strobel was born on November 22, 1929 in Waterbury, Connecticut to Sheldon Seeley and Elizabeth (nee Bryan) Seeley. As the youngest of four sisters, she often spoke of her formative years during World War II with her mother, a young widow, who raised a family under the difficult conditions of the Great Depression and war rationing. 'Poor but honest,' she would tell tales of going to sleepaway camp and swimming with water snakes (a feat radically at odds with her supreme displeasure for snakes later in life). The ability for Winnifred to find joy in any situation became her North Star. She married Christian Albert Strobel Jr. (1929-1981) on April 3, 1954 in Waterbury, CT. She was a devoted wife and mother who would do anything for her family. She and her family moved to Amherst, New Hampshire in 1972 where she lived for the rest of her life. When her four children were young, Winnifred taught Sunday School at the First Congregational Church in Watertown, CT. When her husband passed away suddenly in 1981, she resumed a fruitful career as the head teller at the Milford Co-Operative Bank and then worked part-time at the Brookline, NH Town Hall. Winnifred was a lifelong learner, voraciously reading murder mysteries and of history all over the world. She loved watching NOVA documentaries, cooking shows of cuisine that she would never herself try, and watching the news of New Hampshire and around the globe. She was a deeply caring and unassuming woman who believed in treating everyone with unrelenting decency. She voted religiously and, despite a growing disillusionment with national politics, always believed in the promise of America and potential of everyday people coming together in community. Winnifred’s dry sense of humor and her life of joy contributed to a long, healthy life. Winnifred was proudly self-sufficient. As she neared her ninetieth birthday, she could still be seen snow-blowing her driveway and tending to a lush garden that was matched only by the pictures in her jigsaw puzzle collection. After a fall that resulted in a broken hip earlier this spring, Winnifred maintained her pace for keeping her mind sharp by watching the news and making her way through an unending stack of crossword puzzles. Unfettered, she was an engaged citizen of the world and its eccentricities. She passed away peacefully. Winnifred joins her husband Christian forty-one years after his death and her sisters Jean, Lois, and Nancy, her mother, father and stepfather Howard Wheeler. She will be deeply missed and lemon meringue pie will no longer taste as sweet. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Milford, NH Food Bank or the NH SPCA. A graveside service will be held on Friday, August 12th at 12:00pm in Meadowview Cemetery, Amherst, NH. Arrangements are in the care of Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford.