“It’s All About What the People of Eagle Pass Have Done for Us,” Says Patsy Winn
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2021
The City of Eagle Pass City Council chose to name and dedicate its new Sports Complex in honor of the matriarch of the Winn family, Mrs. Patsy Brown Winn, for the generous philanthropic donation of the 124 acres upon which the multi-sports state of the art facility is built on and the numerous philanthropic contributions made to the community by the Winn family.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal was able to obtain an exclusive interview with Mrs. Patsy Brown Winn on April 23, 2021 in preparation for the City of Eagle Pass Patsy Winn Sports Complex Grand Opening ceremony on July 1, 2021.
During the interview, Mrs. Winn detailed how she and her late and dearly beloved husband, Charles C. Winn, first met in San Antonio, Texas. Mrs. Winn stated she was strolling down a street with some friends for lunch in San Antonio when she first met “Charlie.” “We got introduced and it was love at first sight for me,” said Mrs. Winn. “We were both working in the oil business at the time,” added Mrs. Winn. Patsy and Charlie Winn fell in love and got married shortly thereafter. “We made a deal when we got married: that he would make the living and I was supposed to make the living worthwhile,” recalled Mrs. Winn.
Patsy and Charlie Winn went on to have five children during their marriage, including Stephanie, Charlie, Patsy (“Sissy”), Tom, and Southern. Mrs. Winn noted that the family has now grown to include nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She noted the tragic death of her daughter, Patsy or “Sissy,” in an airplane accident in 1983.
Mrs. Winn stated that the oil and gas business is what brought her late husband, Charlie, and her to Eagle Pass. They relocated the family to Eagle Pass and enrolled them in the local public schools. “The people of Eagle Pass is what made us stay here,” said Mrs. Winn. She noted that the beautiful traditions, friendliness, and helpfulness of the people of Eagle Pass made it rewarding to live in the community such as Jose and Alberto Rodriguez of Eagle Grocery and Meat Market who delivered their groceries to the ranch.
Prior to moving to Eagle Pass, the Winn family had the hunting and fishing rights to the Kincaid Ranch which caused them to be here every weekend. She stated her husband “could see a deer behind every guajillo bush and an oil or gas well underneath every black brush.”
Mrs. Winn emphasized that the family fell in love with the people in Eagle Pass. “It is not the streets and buildings that makes up a City, it is the people,” said Mrs. Winn. She noted the new Sports Complex is about the people of Eagle Pass and the many youths who are going to enjoy and benefit from the facility. “It really is about what the people of Eagle Pass have done for us,” added Mrs. Winn.
Although she is not personally affiliated with sports, Mrs. Winn stated “I am deeply honored and so excited to have this new City of Eagle Pass Sports Complex named after myself.” “I have never had anything named after me before,” added Mrs. Winn. “We are always happy to help any way we can,” said Mrs. Winn.
The Winn family has made numerous philanthropic donations to the community of Eagle Pass, including the donation of the land for the construction of the Southwest Texas Junior College and Sul Ross State University-Rio Grande College campus, which is named after Patsy “Sissy” Winn Seale, the land for the C. C. Winn High School, the land for the Eagle Pass Independent School District Student Activity Center, and now the 124 acres for the newly constructed City of Eagle Pass Sports Complex.
In addition, the Winn family has awarded scholarships to graduating high school students in Eagle Pass as well as made private donations to people in need in the community that have gone unpublicized.
Mrs. Winn reiterated that the grand opening of the new Sports Complex is all about the people of Eagle Pass and the many children, men and women who will enjoy and benefit from the facility for many generations to come.
