Winifred Kost, 87, died peacefully at home on February 20th, 2023. Winnie was born at home on South 17th Street in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, the second daughter to Averil (Shoemaker) and Harold T. Shearer. She attended Camp Hill public schools and graduated from Camp Hill High School in 1953. She went on to attend Gettysburg College, Class of 1957, where she was a proud member of the Chi Omega sorority. She then completed medical school, where she was among the few women in the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Class of 1961. She married her high school sweetheart, Lewis V. Kost Jr., MD, in 1959. They were married for 53 years, until Lew’s death in 2013.
Winnie and Lew raised three daughters in Camp Hill, where Winnie maintained a solo family medical practice for 25 years before she and Lew retired to Montana and Florida. In addition to her roles as wife, mother, and physician, Winnie was an avid tennis player, later golfer (with 2 lifetime holes in one!), and a lover of dogs and horses. Her true lifelong passion, however, was music. She was an exceptionally talented flutist, playing in numerous ensembles throughout her life in central Pennsylvania, ranging from All-State band in high school to the Hershey Symphony Orchestra in the 1970s. In later life, she took up the viola, and continued her musical career through retirement with numerous solo performances, chamber music groups, and community orchestras in Montana, Florida, and Delaware. Other hobbies she enjoyed included oil painting and crossword puzzles.
Winnie is survived by her daughters, Susanne Kost (David Gertler) of Wilmington DE, Virginia Wilson (John) of Verona, WI, and Elizabeth Hawk (David) of Allentown, PA. In addition, she leaves her sister, Phyllis S. Mowery, of Camp Hill, and nine adoring grandchildren—Aaron (Tammy Pham), Sarah, and Eli Gertler; Julia, Becca, Doug and Claire Wilson; Abby (Shane Gray) and Ben Hawk, and one great-granddaughter (Everly Lou Gray), and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 11th, at 2:00 PM at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2000 Chestnut St. in Camp Hill, PA. A visitation with Winnie’s family will be held in the church on Saturday from 1:00 P.M. until the time of the service. All who knew Winnie are welcome. Services will be live-streamed. You can watch the service live or watch the recording at any time following the service, click on the photos and video's tab on this page to find the webcasting.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made online to the American Red Cross at
redcross.org/donate/donation.html/ or to the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, Inc., 7790 Grayson Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111. Myers-Baker Funeral & Cremation Services, Camp Hill, has been entrusted with funeral arrangements.