Winsor Fernette ( Missoula 1942 )
posted: Aug 4, 2020
Winsor was born in Los Angeles, California, August 24,1920. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School in LA in 1939, he developed an interest in forestry while serving as a Forest Ranger in the Los Angeles area. This led to him entering forestry school at the University of Montana in the fall of 1941 and smokejumping in 1942, 1946, 1949, and 1951. While at the University, Winsor was active on collegiate ski and swim teams.
He served in the Army from January 1943 to October 1945 where PFC Fernette was wounded in action in January of 1945. After release from the military, Winsor attended forestry school during the academic year and during the summers alternated between smokejumping and serving as an aerial observer on the Couer d' Alene NF until he earned his master's degree in forestry in 1953. In the spring of 1951, he was detailed to the New Mexico smokejumper crew and he had over 25 career jumps.
Winsor began a career in forestry with the Bureau of Land Management in Portland, Oregon, in December 1953. He was promoted as their Coos Bay District Forester in 1961 and, in 1963, transferred back to the Portland, Oregon, BLM State Office where he retired. Winsor died June 15, 1989 at the age of 69 in Clackamas, Oregon.