After 52 years of serving women to pursue excellence, Sister Lynn Winsor ‘61 is retiring at the end of June. The end of Winsor’s chapter at Xavier was announced Monday, Jan. 26 during the faculty’s Community of Faith Mass.
For over half of a century, Winsor has helped women achieve goals in athletics and has motivated them to pursue excellence in education.
Known to Xavier students as “Sista,” Winsor has had a daily influence in the students’ lives at Xavier. From conducting morning announcements to speaking at rallies and school-wide events, she has brought enthusiasm to the campus and supported the girls in and above sports.
Winsor’s journey at Xavier started as a student in 1958. She was involved in volleyball and basketball. She graduated with her bachelor’s from Arizona State University in 1965 and a master’s from the University of Iowa in 1972.
A major part in Winsor’s life was deciding to join the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1967. As a sister, she started working in physical education in Iowa where she learned of an opening in the P.E. department at Xavier.
Sister Joan Fitzgerald hired Winsor and they began their journey together to build Xavier where it is today. Over the years, Winsor worked as the golf coach, and took on the role of athletic director in 1976. It was then she wanted to create more opportunities for women in sports.
Fitzgerald recalls how far Xavier has come in its facilities and opportunities it gives its students. “When Sister Lynn came, all we had were blacktop tennis courts and we had no gym. When she took on being athletic director, it was my job to focus on building the academics and it was hers to build the athletics and activities.”
Xavier is ranked as the No.1 school in Arizona for sports and No. 5 in the country. The athletic department has 163 state championship titles and 73 state runners-up. In 2024 the activity center located on Xavier’s campus was renamed “Winsor Activity Center” in honor of her.
During her time at Xavier, Winsor formed a strong connection with former principal Sister Joanie Nuckols. Working alongside each other for over 30 years, they too have helped shape the school to what it is today.
“Her enthusiasm is contagious. She is a woman of deep prayer and will continue to do that for the Xavier community,” Nuckols said.
Currently, Nuckols resides with the BVM sisters in Dubuque, Iowa after leaving Xavier in 2024. After retirement, Winsor will join Nuckols and the rest of the sisters in Iowa while keeping in touch with the Xavier community.
Winsor helped start women’s teams with other schools’ involvement. “We would get a group of girls to play soccer with a couple of schools at parks until we became recognized through the AIA. Currently we are 5-time state champions in soccer in the 6A conference,” Winsor said.
Winsor’s passion for women’s athletic excellence goes beyond just Xavier girls. It’s nationwide. Through her support of Title IX, Winsor has sought support for all girls in having equal athletic opportunities.
In the fall of 2025, she stepped down from her athletic director position and passed the torch to current athletic director Tui Selvaratnam. Selvaratnam is a former division 1 golfer from Arizona State University who went on to work for the Arizona Golf Association until 2005.
The following year Selvaratnam received an offer to become assistant coach for the Xavier golf team. In 2010 she became head golf coach alongside Winsor and was shown the ropes of what it takes to be an athletic director. Working under the direction of Winsor, Selvaratnam was able to attend meetings and conferences with Winsor.
”Keeping her and the Xavier legacy going is my goal. I want to stay as the best school in Arizona and keep building what Sister Lynn started,” Selvaratnam stated.
Winsor says that the awards were not the biggest part of the job. The awards opened doors for her and what she could do for the students. “I just happened to be at the right place at the right time,” she said.
Winsor has received some of the highest awards for an athletic director with National High School Athletic Director of the Year, AIA Golf Coach of the Decade, AIA Girls’ High School Golf Coach of the Century, and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s Hall of Fame.
The opportunities that Winsor has been given would not be possible without the BVM sisters’ support throughout it all. Due to the rigorous schedule of an athletic director, Winsor had to miss out on some events with her sisters, and she extended gratitude for their grace toward her.
“Being a religious sister was always at the forefront of everything I did. I owe everything to my faith which made all of my accomplishments possible,” Winsor added.
