Obituary: Ernest "Bud" Gutzman

Obituary

ERNEST “BUD” GUTZMAN, 1932-2018

Ernest Bates “Bud” Gutzman died April 27, 2018, surrounded by his family.

Gutzman was born in Lemhi, Idaho, on June 6, 1932, to Ernest William and Edna Irene “Bates” Gutzman. Living in Salmon, Idaho, around many uncles and aunts, he graduated from Salmon High School in May 1951 and headed to Moscow, Idaho, to attend college.

About this time, the Korean War had started and he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He excelled at the firing range and found himself stationed there for the length of his service. Upon the completion of his service, Gutzman found an opportunity to apprentice in the wool trade, moving to Boston to interview and work.

He was initially stationed to train in Rawlins, Wyo., refining his ability to value wool. After a year, Gutzman was then stationed in San Francisco to work valuing wool for National Wool Marketing Association. This is where he met the love of his life, Norma Ernestina Harris, and the two were married on July 7, 1956.

After a brief time in Stockton, Calif., Gutzman had an opportunity to manage his own warehouse in Santa Rosa, Calif., which he did from 1966 to 1970. He then chose to return to Stockton to manage the California Wool Marketing Association. He received both the Order of the Golden Fleece from the California Wool Growers Association and the American Wool Excellence Award from ASI.

During this journey, the couple raised three children: Daniel, Andrew and Elise. Gutzman retired in 2000 to care for his wife, who died on Dec. 8, 2011, but not before seeing six grandchildren and five great grandchildren come into the world.