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James Winker spent a lot of time gazing at the Big Sioux River.

He could see it from his offices at Raven Industries, where he spent a career before retiring as a vice president in 1991. He rode his bike along the river regularly, marveling at the growth in the city’s core and admiring it as a valuable part of the downtown landscape.

“I remember coming down as a kid to his office, which was right on the river,” his daughter Jenny remembers. “You could walk out of the office door, and you were on the riverbank.”

She said her father would love how much downtown has grown. He died in 2017, and Marlene died in 2020. They were married for more than 63 years.

“To see what’s going on around here is phenomenal,” Jenny said.

Knowing how their father loved downtown and the river is part of what inspired the Winker children to install two swings at Lloyd Landing in The Steel District in honor of their parents. Recently, the Winker children came back to Sioux Falls to see the completed project and remember the legacy their parents left in Sioux Falls.

James moved to Sioux Falls in 1956 to be the first paid employee at Raven Industries. In college, he had an internship at General Mills and connected with the people who would eventually form Raven.

In his work at General Mills, he helped design scientific balloons and took part in a project that distributed pro-democracy leaflets behind the Iron Curtain. At Raven, he helped with the flight test of the first modern hot air balloon. He also worked with the Federal Aviation Administration to develop hot air balloon regulations for the fledgling sport and became an FAA Balloon Pilot Examiner. He held 13 balloon-related patents. After retiring, his historical research and archiving efforts led to the creation of the Balloon Technology Collection, currently managed by NASA.

“He became one of the principal voices in ballooning in his life,” Greg said. “I didn’t realize how well respected he was because he was such a quiet guy and always in the background. If dad was here, he would be doing the heavy lifting and trying to avoid taking credit for it.”

James flew his balloon “My Blue Heaven” over the opening ceremony of the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. National Ballooning Hall of Fame and, in 2021, the International Ballooning Hall of Fame.

Giving back

Before they passed, James and Marlene Winker carefully laid out a charitable estate plan through the Community Foundation. The organizations they included – from South Dakota Public Broadcasting to the Washington Pavilion – reflected a lifetime of thoughtful giving. Their plan also ensured that these gifts would continue far into the future, through endowments created or expanded at the Foundation for 13 different local nonprofits.

To honor that legacy, their children recently returned to Sioux Falls to meet with many of the organizations their parents had chosen to support. In each visit, they shared stories and discovered just how deeply their parents were known – and valued – in the community.

“It was important for us to meet the people and see the places that meant so much to them,” Greg said.
The children also were given a portion of the estate to direct themselves. With that, they made a few charitable gifts of their own – including a pair of riverfront swings at Lloyd Landing, installed in honor of their parents.

“As kids, we would play at Falls Park, and now the upper Falls are being developed, and Dad worked right there at Raven,” Greg said.

They think it’s a spot their parents would have loved. James was part of the River Improvement Society and helped develop the multiuse path that runs along the Big Sioux.  

“On a nice afternoon, it will be such a peaceful place to spend some time,” Greg said.

Mary Kolsrud, chief philanthropy officer at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, said the Winkers’ giving reflects something deeper.

“They cared about this community in a lasting way,” she said. "These gifts weren’t about making a statement – they were about continuing what mattered to them and supporting the community long into the future.”

Leading by example

James had been thoughtful and organized in his life. For example, he had a file he called the “grim reaper” file, Jenny said.

“He showed me, and it had samples of obituaries he liked, and things he didn’t want. He had put in personal information about his professional life,” Jenny said. “It’s a summary of their life, and it’s so important.”

The file taught them a lot about their parents.

But the past year taught them even more.

As the siblings traveled to deliver their parents’ gifts, they found themselves learning things they’d never known – about the nonprofits their parents supported, the people behind them, and the deep ties their parents had built across the community.

“It was a whirlwind, and our parents were so involved in the community,” Greg said. They also were surprised – James had played saxophone in high school, went to the symphony and had a great record collection, but they didn’t realize he gave so generously to the National Music Museum. “They put a lot of effort into deciding what they wanted to do,” Greg said.

One stop was the Oscar Howe Institute. When the family went to make a donation, they learned how difficult it can be to raise money for Native American art programs.

“This can be the difference in being able to continue and not continue something they believe in from the bottom of their hearts,” Greg said of giving to the program. “These gifts of even a small amount of money are so emotional.”

The experience also helped them know their parents more deeply.  

“We have reduced people to tears, they have been so appreciative of the gifts,” Greg said. “It would have been nice for my mom and dad to see that for themselves.”