Judge Dan Peace Winn, 94, of Cedartown, Georgia, joined his beloved parents and sister in God's arms on May 10, 2016. A service of honor and celebration will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2016, at eleven o'clock in the morning at First United Methodist Church, Cedartown, Georgia. His family will receive friends from five o'clock until eight o'clock on Friday, May 20, 2016, at Gammage Funeral Home, Cedartown, Georgia. A private interment service will be held at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery.

Judge Winn was born in Douglasville, Georgia, on September 19, 1921. He entered the military service as a Naval Aviation Cadet in November 1942 and graduated as 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Air Corps. His active duty ended December 1945 as a 1st Lieutenant. He obtained the rank of Major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. During World War II he deployed to the Marianas Islands and flew night fighter missions out of Guam. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medals. In 2007, he was presented the Joe T LaBoon Award "In recognition of his many years of Exemplary Service to the Marine Corps Community" by the Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Greater Atlanta.

Judge Winn attended Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia, on a tennis scholarship playing #1 singles. He graduated from Emory University Law School in 1948. He became the law clerk for the Attorney General, State of Georgia, in 1948 and was later appointed Assistant Attorney General, State of Georgia. He moved to Cedartown in 1949 to begin the practice of law. In Cedartown he was elected Solicitor, City Court of Polk County, Georgia (State Court) in 1951; he was re-elected in 1955 and served until 1959. In 1959, he was elected Solicitor General, Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit (District Attorney) and served two terms in office. After having been elected as Superior Court Judge in 1966, he was appointed Judge, Superior Court of Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit of Georgia, to fill an unexpired term and began his first elected term in 1967. He was re-elected without opposition for five terms until his retirement in 1988 and became a Senior Judge, State of Georgia, until his death. He was admitted to practice in the Superior Courts of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, U.S. District Courts, and the United States Supreme Court. He was a member of the State Bar of Georgia; Tallapoosa Bar Association; American Bar Association; and Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia. He was active in state government serving as President of both the District Attorneys Association and the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia. He worked with the legislature writing state laws and served as a member of a Georgia Constitution Revision Commission producing the state's current constitution and earning the nickname "Rep Winn from the 57th."

His global work included serving as President of the World Jurist Association and as a presenter and panelist at the Conferences on the Law of the World in Madrid, Spain, Cairo, Egypt, and Manila Philippines on a variety of subjects including "Sentencing Philosophies and Trends," "Historic Injustice to Women," and "Aviation and Space Law." He represented the Council of Superior Judges of Georgia at the World Judges Conference in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He served on the Board of Governors, American Judges Association and as Chairman, World Association of Judges Committee on Judicial Processes and Procedures. He was an ambassador in the Georgia to Georgia Friendship Exchange between Atlanta and Tbilisi in 1990.

He was called by many names: Dan, Daddy, Diddy, and Pop by his family. Most of his friends affectionately called him "Judge." His passion for life, his giving soul, his wit and sarcasm, and his ethics and integrity are truly legendary. He called his four children, "the girls" and "the boys." All activities including family events and even doctors' appointments were scheduled around his "gin buddies." His greatest passion was to educate the world on Truman's decision to end World War II with the use of the atomic bomb. He authored several books on this subject with the late General Raymond Davis (Medal of Honor recipient and Past Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps). His most recent book, Courageous Decision, addressed why he believes President Truman and Brigadier General Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. and the crew of the Enola Gay are true heroes and saved millions of American and Japanese lives. His greatest talent was his ability to make friends. He was an avid traveler and made uncountable friends all over the world.

Judge Winn was preceded in death by his parents, Mary Peace and Frank M. Winn, his sister, Jean Winn Weston, and his brother, Francis Winn.

He is survived by his children, Darice Winn Lewis of Cedartown, Georgia, Nila Winn of Douglasville, Georgia, Frank Winn (Stephanie) of Douglasville, Georgia, and Nick Winn (Tina) of Winston, Georgia; his grandchildren, Joely Heege (Gary) of Marietta, Georgia, Allyn Arrington (Scott) of Cedartown, Georgia, Ayn Glenn of Cedartown, Georgia, Austin Smith (Rebecca) of Villa Rica, Georgia, Erin Winn of Douglasville, Georgia, Brandon Winn (Liz) of Lubbock, Texas, and Conley Winn of Douglasville, Georgia; and his sister, Sara Anne Winn Thomas of Cedartown, Georgia. He is also survived by seven great-grandchildren, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, as well as other loving relatives, and many great friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that you consider giving in his memory to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, http://www.choa.org/support, or Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, https://my.mcsf.org/donate.

Messages of condolence can be made to the family by visiting our website and signing the online guestbook at gammagefh.com.


The Olin L. Gammage and Sons Funeral Home is handling the arrangements for Judge Dan Peace Winn.