Changes

John was born in Normal, Illinois , to Millie and [[Henry Winchester]]. Henry was a member of the [[Men of Letters]], who intended to induct John into the order when he was old enough. However, when John he was four, his father disappeared. John thought Henry had simply left, not never knowing that his father had fled through time to escape the grasp of the [[Knight of Hell]], [[Abaddon]], who later killed him in the 21st century. This left John with a deep resentment -- in Dean's words "he hated the man."<ref>[[8.12 As Time Goes By]]</ref> Nothing is known of John's mother Millie. John described himself as "a mechanic from a family of mechanics" and when he is an adult there is someone in his life who an acquaintance refers to as "his old man."<ref name="four03">[[4.03 In the Beginning]]</ref> There may have been mechanics on his mother's side, and possibly Millie re-partnered or the "old man" was John's maternal grandfather.

After returning to [[Lawrence, Kansas]] , from the Vietnam War where he served as a marine, John worked as a mechanic and was eventually co-owner (with [[Mike Guenther]]) of a garage. John and [[Mary Campbell]] did not initially get along when they met. However, [[Heaven]] was interested in bringing together the lines of [[hunter]]s and [[Men of Letters]], and so a [[cherub]] intervened, causing the two to fall in love.<ref>[[5.14 My Bloody Valentine]]</ref> John and Mary's marriage was not always happy, and at least once he moved out of the family home.<ref name="five16">[[5.16 Dark Side of the Moon]]</ref>

In 1973, as John went to a car yard to purchase a beige VW van but was persuaded by [[Dean]], who had come from the future, to get the [[Impala]] instead.<ref>[[4.03 In the Beginning]]</ref> Soon after John was about to propose to Mary when [[Azazel]] killed him. Mary would make made a deal with Azazel for John's life, in exchange for a promise to allow Azazel into her home in ten years' time.<ref name="four03" /> After John's resurrection, the two married in Reno on August 19, 1975, at Mary's instigation.<ref>[[12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On]]</ref>

John was unaware of Mary's life as a hunter, but did learn of this when Sam and Dean return to 1978 protect their parents from the [[angel]] [[Anna]], who had gone back in time to prevent Sam from being born by killing John and Mary.<ref>[[5.13 The Song Remains the Same]]</ref> John would consent consented to being possessed by Michael, thinking it would help save Mary, allowing Michael to kill the Anna. Afterwards, John and Mary's memories are wiped of the encounter with the angels and Sam and Dean by [[Michael]].

When Mary was murdered by Azazel in 1983, John raised their two sons, Sam and Dean, alone. Mary's mysterious death would become became an obsession for John, who sought to learn what happened that night and kill the thing that pinned Mary to the ceiling. His quest for revenge would lead led him [[Missouri Mosely]], who revealed to John the world of the supernatural. After taking to the hunter life, John would move moved his family from town to town following leads on supernatural creatures (telling Sam that he was a traveling salesman), in . In the early days, he would often leaving leave the boys with other hunters like [[Pastor Jim]] or with babysisters babysitters he'd find at motels, but sometimes leaving he left them alone to fend for themselves for days or even weeks<ref name="four19">[[4.19 Jump the Shark]]</ref> to fend for themselves.<ref name="three08">[[3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas]]</ref><ref name="four13">[[4.13 After School Special]]</ref> Though he never settled anywhere for very long, John did establish a [[John's lock-up|lock-up]] where he stored weapons (including landmines and grenades), [[curse boxes]], and mementos from Sam and Dean's childhood. When Dean was six or seven, John began training him to use a shotgun, while keeping Sam is unaware of hunting and believes . Sam believed John is was a salesman until he reads read [[John's Journal]] when he is was eight.<ref name="three08">[[3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas]]</ref>

John would meet met [[Bobby Singer]] who advised him about hunting, and also, at least by 1989, was looking looked after Sam and Dean while John was on the road.<ref>[[7.10 Death's Door]]</ref> In 1991, he gave an 8-year-old Sam an amulet as a Christmas present to give to John, which he eventually gave to Dean.<ref>[[3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas]]</ref>.

In 1990, unbeknownst to Sam and Dean, John is was injured on a hunt in Windom, Minnesota, and goes went to the hospital where he meets met [[Kate Milligan]]. During a brief fling, he gets got her pregnant, although he doesndidn't meet his son -- [[Adam Milligan]] -- until he was 12 years old. John would have had sporadic contact with Adam from 2002 until John's death in 2006. While John raised Sam and Dean in a very militant and non-conventional environment, it seemed he used his time with Adam to do more traditional father-son activities such as going to baseball games that he either couldn't or wouldn't do with his older two sons.<ref name="four19">[[4.19 Jump the Shark]]</ref>

After Sam chose to leave the family and hunting and attend Stanford, John cut off contact with him, although he regularly visited Palo Alto to check up on him.<ref>[[1.08 Bugs]]</ref> He John and Dean continued hunting together, with Dean also going on hunts on his own as he got older. Around this time John and Bobby have had a falling out -- Dean comments that the last time Bobby saw John he nearly "filled him with buckshot."<ref name="one22">[[1.22 Devil's Trap]]</ref>

In 2005, John got a lead on the [[demon]] that was responsible for Mary's death, and he left Dean in order to pursue it. He tries tried to keep both Sam and Dean at a distance in order to protect them, even refusing to respond when Dean calls called him when he and Sam return returned to Lawrence in response to Sam's visions.<ref>[[1.09 Home]]</ref> and or when Sam calls called to tell him Dean is was dying.<ref>[[1.12 Faith]]</ref>

Following a car crash caused by a [[Trucker|demon]], John offered his own life and [[the Colt]] to [[Azazel]] to save Dean. John revealed that he has had known the "truth" about Sam all along. Before he died, John warned Dean that he may have to kill Sam if he couldn't save him.<ref>[[2.01 In My Time of Dying]]</ref>

Due to his deal with Azazel, when John Winchester died he was sent to [[Hell]], where over the next ten months (equivalent of a hundred years) he was tortured by [[Alastair]]. Alastair later told Dean that John never "broke" -- that is , he never gave in to Alastair's temptation to protect himself by torturing others. Dean, by contrast, gave in after three months (equivalent of thirty years) of torture, thus breaking the first of [[the 66 Seals]] to free [[Lucifer]] that required that a righteous man shedding blood in Hell.<ref>[[4.16 On the Head of a Pin ]]</ref>

While he looks through the lore books, John also talks with Sam about their fightthe night Sam left for Stanford. Sam tells John that while he thinks about him a lot, he never thinks about their fights. Sam felt bad about how he never got to say goodbye before finding John on the floor in the hospital. However, Sam acknowledges that John did the best he could for them.