Robert F. (Bob) Gunter
Robert F. (Bob) Gunter was born in Whites Chapel, Ala., on Jan. 20, 1926.
He passed gently and in a spirit of profound peace and communion at 2:40 a.m. on June 20, 2012, in Post Falls, Idaho, after several days of visiting with his family.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, M. Lucile (Cille) Gunter, the one true love of his life, and by his younger brother and only sibling, Edward (Ned) Gunter.
He is survived by four children: Robert Jr. (Janie) of Redlands, Calif., David (Tami) Gunter of Sandpoint, Karen Cole of Post Falls, and Dawn (Michael) Lavallee of St. Paul, Alberta, Canada; as well as 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He also had a special bond of love with Sharon Gunter and Tracy Cole, who are, respectively, the mother and father of six of his grandchildren.
Bob was a precocious boy, becoming proficient on violin and considering a career as a concert violinist – an interest he later continued when he played in community symphony orchestras or jammed with friends on bluegrass fiddle tunes for fun.
He attended Tennessee Military Institute as a teenager and served in the U.S. Army during World War II in special operations, seeing combat in Germany and developing a lifelong opposition to war. In his 20s, he became an ordained minister in the Southern Baptist Church, leading a congregation in Bluefield, West Virginia, before filling the post as hospital assistant chaplain in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and, later, as chaplain at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, in Long Beach, Calif., where Cille worked as a nurse. A gifted counselor, he founded one of the first Suicide Prevention Centers in the country at the hospital before earning his PhD and going into private practice as a psychologist.
After retirement, Bob and Cille made Sandpoint their home, where he started a new phase of his career life as a freelance writer and regional historian. His articles appeared in the Bonner County Daily Bee, as well as several other publications in the region, and he built a large and loyal following of readers. He took enormous pride in having worked with his best friend, Erik Daarstad, on the historic video documentary of Sandpoint and continued to write for his readers and fans – whom he referred to as his “kids” – until a month before his passing.
He shared one of his proudest moments when his daughter, Karen, accompanied him on the Honor Flight program to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2010.
Only a few hours before he died, Bob was still discussing potential article ideas and expressed a desire to continue to find ways to help others.
He will be remembered as an adoring father and grandfather, as “Hi-Kid” or “Pop-Pop” to his loving grandchildren and great-grandchildren, for his joy in stirring the pot and being a thorn in the side of all who took themselves too seriously, for his abiding love of music and history and for always seeing the inherent humor in all situations.
Bob had 39 years of sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous and lived each day fully and gratefully. He always said, “Life is too important to be taken seriously.” Just before he died, with his two loving daughters singing and praying by his side, he said, “I’m home.”
The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, cards or gifts, donations be sent to the Healing Garden adjacent to Bonner General Hospital by mail at: Garden, P.O. Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID, 83864, or to Inland Northwest Honor Flight at: 608 W 2nd, Ste 309 Spokane, WA 99201-4430.
A celebration of Bob’s life will be held on Sunday, July 1, at 5 p.m. in the top-floor auditorium at the Sandpoint Events Center — the former Sandpoint High School building on the corner of Pine and Euclid.
His many readers, friends and fans are encouraged to attend and share memories of the man. This event is open to the public.