Winterfeldt, Esther

11-10-2020

 

Esther A. Winterfeldt, 94, was born in Stigler, OK, on July 27, 1926, to Walter William and Elsie Pearl Winterfeldt.  Following high school graduation, she attended Oklahoma State University where she earned a bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Dietetics.  She completed her master's degree at Oklahoma State University in 1957 and her PhD at Ohio State University in 1970.   Following graduation from OSU, she held a dietetic internship at the University of Michigan Hospitals. Subsequently, she held positions in hospital dietetics at Children's Hospital, Louisville, KY, the University of Chicago Hospitals, and Ohio State University Hospitals in Columbus where she held faculty positions.  Following the completion of the doctorate, she returned to Oklahoma State where she was a professor an head of the Nutritional Sciences Department. She was named a Regents Professor in 1985, which was renewed in 1988.  Dr. Winterfeldt was elected to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2002.  During leaves of absence from OSU, she worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington DC, serving as an IPA in research and administrator of the Human Nutrition Service.  Following retirement from OSU, she served as interim department head at Auburn University (Alabama) and the University of Texas in Houston.  She also served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences and in the Gerontology Institute at OSU.  During her career, she was active in state and national dietetics associations, including serving as president of the American Dietetic Association and was the recipient of the Association's highest award, the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award in 1990.  She was active in a number of community and university organizations, including the OSU Emeriti Association of which she served as president.  Her parents and three sisters predeceased her.  She is survived by one sister, Helen Miller of Arlington, TX, as well as several nieces.