Aubrey Hannah Winstead was born on February 22, 2003 to her parents, Carissa and Jacob Winstead. She was the first grandchild on both sides of her maternal family and was highly anticipated with love and excitement. Due on Valentine’s Day, she had other plans and came into

the world a week late. The entire family was present, and thrilled at the news, “It’s a girl!” Her daddy named her after the song ‘Aubrey’ by Bread. Her mother said, “Aww I love her!” the moment she held her.

After ten days of sharing utter joy and pure love at home with Aubrey, she was taken to her first pediatrician visit to investigate her labored breathing. Unbeknownst to everyone, Aubrey had been suffering from HLHS, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and her body was slowly losing oxygen. Aubrey was transferred by ambulance to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, and that began her fight to live. She had five open heart surgeries by the age of four years old.

She grew up in the countryside of Durant, Oklahoma playing in the dirt with her three brothers, and she loved creatures of every kind. Aubrey taught her brothers to dig for crawdads, care for hamsters, hunt down and catch lizards, and snuggle with fluffy cats. Their inside jokes and SnapChat selfies would often cause an eruption of belly laughter; Aubrey’s guttural giggles were music to her family’s ears. She had the best belly laugh anyone had ever heard. In the country, Aubrey learned to be a skilled photographer, and she captured the spectacular features of sunsets. Whenever she could, she would go on “Sunday drives” with her daddy and photograph the wildlife and bits of beautiful scenery they stumbled across. She treasured nature and the ocean and talked about becoming a marine biologist. She drew an ocean, marine biologist themed Google welcome page to enter in their contest, complete with a suited-up scuba girl surrounded by sea life in the shape of “Google” letters.

Aubrey called herself a “foodie.” Her favorite restaurants included Rosa’s, Maggiano’s, Rustico, Jason’s Deli, and Chili’s, and she was always thinking about what tastes she craved next. She became the sous chef at home, cooking elaborate meals alongside her mother, which she loved to photograph before enjoying. She planned shopping lists and even cooked dinners for her family on her own. One of her favorites was Ina Garten’s “perfect roast chicken” with superfluous amounts of garlic and lemon and roasted with carrots and red potatoes. She craved the connection that food created and always insisted the family sit at their six-seat dinner table together to dine.

Aubrey loved travel, and she visited Oregon, California, Florida, Michigan, and Yellowstone National Park. She also delighted in visiting Disney Land and Disney World, where she enjoyed the Princess Breakfast and a gluten-free Thanksgiving-dinner-style meal. The Make-a-Wish Foundation gave Aubrey a trip to Orlando to stay in the Wish Village where she visited theme parks including Sea World, Universal Studios, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. However, during her Make-a-Wish trip, Aubrey was most captivated by the lizards she found at every corner and the always open free ice cream shop. On the safari ride, a giraffe walked within arm’s reach, and she was in awe. Aubrey went to many events with HopeKids, but the most fun she ever had was at the Dallas Stars hockey games. She was chosen by John Klingberg to join the Stars behind-the-scenes for the day. Her sweet sixteen was made special with an announcement of her birthday on the Megatron. She loved hockey because she loved their aggression; she could relate to that kind of fight.

As a young woman, Aubrey began to experience health struggles again, and she endured a heart transplant in 2020. After fighting through initial graft failure and battling against CMV, she went home to live in Denison, Texas with her family. She did everything she could to live well, and every choice she made was for the health of her body. Aubrey was diagnosed with stage IV lymphoma in June of 2024. She chose to valiantly fight again, and she bravely endured treatment because her highest hope was to live with her family earthside.

Aubrey is dearly loved and will be painfully missed by all who knew and loved her. She passed peacefully from this life with her family at her side on Sunday, September 1st, 2024, at 10:57a. She was twenty-one years old.

Aubrey is survived by her mom, Carissa Winstead, her dad, Jacob Winstead, her three loving brothers, Asher, Noah and Liam; her grandparents, Skip and Terri Weir, Kemp and Teresa Johnson, Lynn Winstead, and Mark and Rebecca Snipp; her great grandparents, Tom and Karen Wootton, and Doris Snipp, and many cherished extended family members. She was preceded in death by her Nana Jan, GG Honey, Great Gma Worley, Gmama, and Papa Lou. She also has a sister who was lost by miscarriage, and we believe they are greeting each other now.

A Celebration of Life is planned for Thursday, September 12th, at 6:30 pm at Victory Life Church in Sherman, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to the HopeKids Foundation in Dallas, Texas in Aubrey’s honor. You may contact them at onations@hopekids.org or call 1-800-319-5845.

Services are under the direction of Holmes-Coffey-Murray Funeral Home, 121 North 5th Street, Durant, Oklahoma 74701. www.holmescoffeymurray.com