JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For nearly 50 years on WJXT, forecasting temperatures, rainfall and storms was the biggest role of legendary meteorologist George Winterling, who “lived and breathed” weather.
Winterling was also known, both to his television fans and to his neighbors in Beauclerc, for his love of gardening.
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We can’t forget all the times we watched George tending his famous patch of Earth -- “George’s Garden”-- sometimes with his granddaughter, Amanda.
“What type is this?” she would ask about something in the garden. “I think this is the seven sisters, I’m not sure, but it looks a lot like it,” George would say.
When did he realize he had a green thumb?
“I don’t know. It just kinda grows on you,” he replied with a laugh.
That was classic George -- puns and silliness.
Ask more questions and he’d say that digging in the dirt is gratifying:
“It’s a living, living being,” George said. “It’s just a part of Mother Earth -- a mother that has a lot of children and we have to kind of help tend them.”
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Talking to him in his home garden after his five-decade career, there was still a sparkle in his eyes and enthusiasm when showing off his piece of nature.
“You can see the butterflies are having lots of fun. It’s amazing,” he said.
Not far from George’s home, we found other local green thumbs with their own George stories to tell as they giggled in the garden and munched on Mother Nature’s treats.
A couple of master gardeners along with the president of the Mandarin Garden Club got together to reflect on 50 years of George’s gardening tips on the air.
“It was like watching my dad. I mean, I respected him the same way,” one said.
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“He showed that gardening can be done anywhere ... not just in the picture books and all that, but anywhere, like in the back of the station there,” another said.
And that’s what they say at the Mandarin Garden Club: anyone can do it, anytime, anywhere. They say George helped inspire that.
Through the years they paid close attention to his forecasts and they adored his approachable personality:
“He did a story once, I’ll never forget it -- a picture of him taking a shower! We got a call from a woman right afterward saying, ‘That Mrs. Winterling, she is one lucky woman!’”
When asked about that photo, George explained he was trying to use it to make a point about washing pollen out of your hair.
That was George -- ever the teacher.
“He’s the dean, the guru, the George-meister!”
Mary Baer retired from News4JAX on May 31, 2023. Three weeks later, she’d learn her long-time friend, George Winterling, had passed. Mary wrote this letter for George from her home state of Oregon:
Working with George was an incredible honor. I’ll never forget his passion for his work, but most importantly, how kind, compassionate, and devoted he was to his family, coworkers and community. We both shared a love of beagles, and gardening! I of course did not have his green thumb, but he would share so many tips and advice through the years, and I treasure the time that we got to walk through his garden together.
His mischievous sense of humor made for indelible memories, like the time he announced, live on channel 4, that the weather was so great that “Mary Baer was seen driving around topless!” Of course he meant I was in a convertible, but he could not quit laughing about that!
I’ll miss those laughs, and the times we spent together. Love you George!