Esther Ann Winterfeldt

Esther Ann Winterfeldt was born in Stigler, Oklahoma on July 27, 1926 to Walter William and Elsie Pearl (Wells) Winterfeldt. After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class, she attended Oklahoma A&M where she obtained a B.S. degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. She was named to Who’s Who in College and Universities, Mortar Board, Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Nu, and Sigma Xi. Following a dietetic internship at the University of Michigan Hospitals, she held positions in hospital dietetics at Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky; the University of Chicago Hospitals in Chicago; and Ohio State University Hospitals in Columbus, Ohio where she also held faculty appointments.

She completed her Masters degree in 1957 at Oklahoma State University and her PhD at Ohio State University in 1970. Following the degree, she assumed the position of professor and head in the Nutritional Sciences department at Oklahoma State University. She helped provide continuing education for dietitians returning to work as needed consultants in small hospitals and nursing homes as well as teaching and advising many students in the department. In 1985, she was named a Regents Professor and reappointed in 1988. She was elected to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2002.

She assumed positions for two years in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., on leave from the University, serving as an IPA in research and administrator of the Human Nutrition Service. Following retirement from Oklahoma State, she served as interim department head at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and at 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 Oklahoma State.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, she was active in state and national Dietetics Associations, serving in several positions including the presidency of the American Dietetic Association in 1980. She was awarded the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher award in 1990, the highest honor awarded by the association.

Active in a number of community and university organizations, she served in the OSU Emeriti Association for several years and as chair of the planning group to build a retirement center in Stillwater. She has also traveled extensively throughout the United States and other countries. She has authored several books and presented continuing education sessions at Spanish Cove Retirement Center where she lived since 2013.


One of five sisters, she is predeceased by her parents and three sisters.
She is survived by one sister Helen Miller of Arlington, Texas; nieces Pamela Lunk of Arlington, Texas; Margaret Miller of Plano, Texas; Patricia Miller of Livingston, Montana; Cheri Derryberry of Chandler, Arizona; and Merry Svenson of Seatac, Washington.

She will be interred in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Condolences may be sent to the family and an online obituary may be viewed by visiting www.strodefh.com.