When looking for worthy causes and institutions to lend his support, Paul Winter '61 falls back on the values instilled in him growing up in Glenwood, Minnesota during the 1940s and '50s.
Values, he said, were reinforced during his time as a student in Collegeville.
"I come from a good family with good Christian values, and all those things that taught me continued to increase at Saint John's," said Winter, a business major who went on to serve in the military following his graduation. He then spent almost 40 years with the EMC Corporation in St. Paul, serving as the company's president from 1987 until his retirement with the sale of the company in 2005.
"It was a continuation of what I grew up with. It amplified all those values – love, respect for others and treating people the way you want to be treated. Those are values we need so much of in our society."
Assuring there will always be a place for those values was a big part of why Winter decided several decades ago to include a gift to Saint John's in his will.
He did not specify how it is to be used.
"I'm a big believer in trust," he said. "I believe everybody the first time. They have to do something to get me to lose faith in them. It's how I operate. And Saint John's has always lived up to my trust over the years.
"So I trust them to find to find the best use for the money I donate. I just want to see the mission at Saint John's continue."
Winter has also found other ways to support SJU through the years, most notably a donation that helped return outdoor tennis courts to campus after a five-year absence. The Chang Tennis Complex opened in the spring of 2017 and was named in honor of Winter's wife Dr. Lian Chang - a psychiatrist who specializes in working with the geriatric population, including consulting work in numerous nursing homes.
Winter spent much of his life as a bachelor until he met Chang 12 years ago, when he was 70.
"I'm really an introvert," he said with a chuckle. "In my previous life, I may have been a hermit. But in 2009, I had a friend who owned an art gallery. And she and her assistant came over to hang a piece of art that I had purchased. They decided we should have a glass of wine to celebrate. And she told me about Match.com. I'd heard about these online dating sites, so I decided to go on just to find out what exactly they were all about.
"I filled out a résumé and signed off. Then I started getting these résumés back. And the fifth or sixth one I looked at was hers. I thought to myself that if there ever was a girl for me, she was it. And we've been together ever since."
It's truly been a happy ending. And through his donations to SJU, he hopes he is able to provide future happiness for others as well.
"I believe there are two main missions at a Christian college," he said. "The first is to build Christian values, and the second is to prepare students for future success in life.
"I think SJU does an outstanding job at both of those things, and I want that to continue for years to come."
