Wendy L. Winsted (September 1, 1947 – 1991) was an American folksinger and author.

Marc Morrone Marc Morrone (born 1960 in Bronx, New York)http://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/columnists/marc-morrone is an American animal dealer and breeder and host of ''The Pet Shop with Marc Morrone'' for Mag Rack. He also hosted ''Petkeeping with Marc Mor ...

credited Winsted with popularizing

ferret The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, Domestication, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), evidenced by their Hybrid (biol ...

s as pets in the United States in the mid-1970s.

Early life and education

Winsted was from Stillwater, Oklahoma, the daughter of Frank Arthor Winsted and Juanita June Preston Winsted. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was the city manager of Ponca City, Oklahoma. He also worked in the petroleum industry. She attended Stillwater High School in Oklahoma. She was a pre-medical student at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

in New York City, and working as a veterinary assistant, when she began keeping skunks and later ferrets as pets, and breeding ferrets for sale. She attended medical school at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

Musical career

After high school, Winsted was a folksinger and songwriter. She was friends with Jean Ray (of Jim and Jean) and

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

in New York City. In 1971, she opened for

Paul Siebel Paul Karl Siebel (September 19, 1937 – April 5, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Buffalo, New York. He is best known for other artists' cover versions of his songs, most notably "Louise". Other frequently cov ...

at a coffeehouse in Buffalo, and played with

Paul Geremia Paul Geremia (born April 21, 1944) is an American blues singer and acoustic guitarist. Geremia was born in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. He recorded his first album in 1968, having been significantly influenced by both the rural blue ...

at Lehigh University. She played guitar and trumpet. She co-wrote a song, "Livin' in the Country", which was recorded by Tom Rush.

Veterinary career

Winsted perfected the procedure for de-scenting young ferrets (by removing the anal scent sac and neutering males to eliminate their odor). She introduced ferrets to numerous celebrities such as

Dick Smothers Richard Remick Smothers (born November 20, 1938) is an American actor, comedian, composer, and musician. He was half of the musical comedy team the Smothers Brothers, with his older brother Tom Smothers, Tom. Life and career Smothers was born i ...

and David Carradine and appeared on television numerous times with her own ferrets, including an appearance on ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

''. Winsted taught her method of de-scenting ferrets to several breeders and farms across the United States, thereby making de-scented ferrets the standard for being sold at pet stores. She also endorsed skunks as pets, though she admitted it "takes a very special kind of person".

Publications

*''Ferrets: A Complete Introduction'' (1983) *''Ferrets In Your Home'' (1990)

Personal life

Winsted died in the 1990s from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winsted, Wendy 1947 births 1991 deaths People from Stillwater, Oklahoma 20th-century American women writers American musicians American songwriters