Winfield Scott Church was born on March 5, 1879, in Wilkes County, North Carolina. During World War I, Church served with the Quartermaster Corps at Camp Meigs in Washington, D.C., and Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. He was honorably discharged on September 13, 1918, on account of having dependent relatives. Church died in Boonville (Yadkin County) on January 23, 1960.