David Wincygster was born on May 1, 1924, in Ostrowiec, son of  Shmuel Gershon and Chana (Grafstein) Wincygster. His grandparents were Golda and Alter Wincygster.

Hi Mother  Chana was born in 1902 in Ostrowiec daughter of  Hershel and Golda Grafstein.

Shmuel was a furrier and owned his own shop.Shmuel and Chana had 6 children: Sheindel b. 1919; Esther b. 1920; Hershel b. 1922; David b. 1924; Sarah b. 1926; and Chaya b. 1928.

David’s maternal aunt Henia Kestenbaum, husband Alter, and sons, Hershel and Mier, and David’s uncle Fishel Wincygster also lived with them.

David survived the Holocaust. His mother Chana and sisters Esther, Sarah, Sheindel and Chaya were murdered in Treblinka. His grandmother Golda was shot in the street during the first mass deportation in Ostrowiec ghetto. His cousins Hershel and Mier and uncle Fishel were killed in Auschwitz in 1944 and his aunt Henia in 1945.

In 1944, David’s brother Hershel was sent to Mauthausen concentration camp and died in spring 1945, just after liberation.

In 1947, David met Henia (later Helen) Spielman . Henia and her family emigrated to America in May 1949. In November, David’s great uncle sponsored his visa to the US and lived in the Bronx and changed his name to Winchester. David and Helen Spielman married on March 8, 1951. The couple settled in Brooklyn and had two children.

Helen, 80, passed away on October 14, 2011. David, 93, passed away on July 1, 2017.