Leo Winn

Leo Winn passed away at home on August 1, 2026, in Delray Beach, FL at the age of 102 1/2 years. Leo Winokur Winn was born as Nachman Laib Winokur on November 25, 1923, in Lodz, Poland to Abraham Winokur, a textile engineer, and Esther Radogowsky, a dressmaker. He had a sister, Deborah Winokur, who was two years younger. In the Fall of 1939, the German army invaded Poland and occupied Lodz. Leo's large extended Jewish family was forced into the small Lodz ghetto area. Both of his parents would pass away in the ghetto, succumbing to illness due to the difficult living conditions there. In July 1944, with the Russian front only miles away, Leo and remaining family members were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. After learning his sister had been killed in the camp, Leo volunteered for work duty at another camp, which turned out to be Dachau, in Bavaria, Germany. Leo was a slave laborer in the construction of an underground Messerschmitt factory in the Kaufering subcamp. After the liberation of Dachau by American forces on April 29, 1945, Leo recovered from near death in a monastery converted into a field hospital. He then spent several years in a United Nations refugee resettlement camp before immigrating to New York City. In New York, Leo obtained his GED at night while working during the day. He then earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from CCNY. Also in New York, Leo met and married a fellow survivor from Germany, Monica Mager. After beginning his career at General Electric in New Jersey, Leo transferred to the GE jet turbine facility in Lynn, Massachusetts. All three of their children, Daniel, Michael and Deborah were born in Lynn. In 1966, Leo moved the family to Niskayuna, NY to join a company that had been formed by fellow GE engineers, Mechanical Technology Inc. At MTI, Leo became an expert in bearing technology and obtained a number of patents in the field while working on many interesting projects in aviation and aerospace, including the space shuttle and nuclear submarines. After retiring at age 70, Leo and Monica split their time between Niskayuna and Jupiter, FL before moving full time to Florida twenty years ago. Leo wrote a holocaust memoir in his mid-eighties entitled, "Cry if You Can", which he considered an important achievement. Leo is survived by his wife Monica F. Winn, daughter Deborah Winn Horvitz (Bruce), son Michael Winn (Monica) and son Daniel Winn (Sheri). He is also survived by grandchildren Rosalie Winn, Elliott Winn, Amelia Winn, Stacey Horvitz, Lindsey Horvitz Strassman and Andrew Horvitz, as well as seven great-grandchildren. Donations in Leo's memory may be made to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Leo Winn

November 25, 1923 - August 1, 2026