Bridge club to memorialize, re-dedicate Colorado Springs center, to honor founding member
The Colorado Springs Bridge Center will celebrate the life of one of its founding members — Robert “Bob” Wingeard — at a Tuesday memorial gathering that also will serve as a naming ceremony for the club building, to honor Wingeard’s contributions and legacy.
A resident of Black Forest, Wingeard died Nov. 30, at age 84.
“We will be dedicating the Bridge Center to Bob, because he was the driving force behind the effort to build the structure that has housed ACBL (American Contract Bridge League) Unit 360 for almost 50 years now,” said member and past president Howard Donaldson. “Fundamental is not strong enough a word for what he was to the bridge center.”
The center was Wingeard’s “brainchild;” he arranged for the purchase of the land and oversaw construction of the building, at 901 N. 17th St., in the early 1970s, making the center today one of only three units in the American league to own its facility, Donaldson said.
Wingeard served in a number of roles and leadership positions at the local, regional and national levels of the ACBL, and was a skilled player of bridge.
A 30 year career as a civilian at Air Defense Command/NORAD, and degree in mathematics from Purdue University, were, in many ways, good training for the game Wingeard loved.
“Bridge requires concentration and analytical thinking, calculating percentages and stuff like that constantly,” said Wingeard’s friend and long-time club member Mel Levine.
Levine credited Wingeard’s personality, and caring nature, with helping create a bridge unit that feels more like family.
“You really couldn’t find a better, kinder person,” Levine said.
What: Celebration of Life service for Robert “Bob” Wingeard, building dedication, and memorial fund-raising game for The Human Rights Campaign, in Wingeard’s honor
When: 10 a.m. Tuesday
Where: Colorado Springs Bridge Center, 901 N. 17th St.
Reservations are requested. Please contact Tami Hilton, at 719-385-0690, 719-433-2025 or tamigeoff@comcast.net
A celebration of life gathering for Bob Wingeard will be held Tuesday at the Colorado Springs Bridge Center, a club he helped create and secure a permanent home for, at 901 N. 17th St. in Colorado Springs. Wingeard died Nov. 30 at age 84.