Wink

Jon D. “Don” Wink, a painter, teacher and administrator who spent more than half a century building university art programs, died Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Austin, Texas, at the age of 88.

Don attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, continued his graduate studies at Ohio University and completed his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Don began his teaching career at Glenville State University in West Virginia, followed by Southwestern University in Texas. He later moved to Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, where he was appointed chairman of the art department at age 31, building an innovative college art program over seven years. He then returned to Texas to lead the art department at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches for 26 years, and finally to Lubbock, Texas, to direct the Texas Tech University School of Art, serving for 18 years and retiring as a professor.

Don was preceded in death by his father, Weldon; his mother, Viola; his brother, Eddie; and his wife of more than 62 years, Nadine.

He is survived by his children, Gary Wink, Natalie Wiesehuegel and Anson Wink; and by four grandchildren.

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