Richard H. Guthrie
December 1, 1944 - April 16, 2021
Richard H. Guthrie was born at the Baylor Hospital on December 1, 1944, in Dallas Texas. He was the youngest of four children and had a wonderful childhood growing up on a small farm in Garland. He attended Garland High School (class of 1963) and was the first in his family to graduate from college. In August of 1967, Richard graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Arts in History. In his professional life, Richard worked in the insurance industry for more than 35 years.
He was not only handsome but had a beautiful soul, a kind heart, and a compassionate spirit. Richard loved to spend time with family, friends, his beloved little fur-friends Sonia, Freddie, and several adopted cats. He was an amazing father, a friend you could always count on, and the most wonderful husband. He was witty, a great storyteller, and had a keen sense of humor, a must, to travel half-way around the world to meet his love, Elena. He enjoyed the little things, was a wonderful handyman, liked to garden, and had many hobbies. An accomplished archer, Richard received multiple first- and second-place awards. He had a great appreciation for the masterfully engineered aircrafts and enjoyed building model airplanes in his spare time. His most recently completed model was the Zero-Sen, the top Japanese fighter of the Pacific area, and he was in the process of building a Focke-Wulf FW-190, a German WWII fighter Interceptor.
He was a ‘foodie’ long before the term existed and an incredible cook. He introduced me to dishes like the Float (coke over vanilla ice cream), peanut butter sandwiches, Frito pies, Texas brisket, breakfast biscuits and Black-Eyed Peas for good luck every New Year day. His secret ingredient for brownies included walnuts and his most delicious tuna salad always included a chopped fresh apple. He also taught me the trick to making the absolute best crispy bacon by cooking in the microwave, wrapped in a paper towel.
As a lifelong learner, Richard cherished reading and was especially fond of history. His library includes everything from art, religion, history, and many more. Richard was also an avid music and movie lover. You could often find him playing chess or solitaire while listening to ABBA, Journey, Chicago, Train, Classical, and many more other tracks in his library of thousands. His ever-expanding movie collection also includes a wide range of classics, country westerns, historic, and comedies, and most recently he greatly enjoyed watching The Chosen and just about anything with Tom Selleck.
On Friday, April 16th, 2021 Richard Guthrie, loving husband, and father, died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Garland, Texas.
Richard is survived by his wife, Helena, his three children Cassie, Greg, and Inga, his sister Diane, and his dog Sonia, who misses him terribly, his five rescue cats (Rusty, Stripes, Baby, Cali, and Boots), and many long-time friends and family too numerous to list but not forgotten. He is now reunited with his loving parents, Roy Hill and Naomi Louise, his brothers Frank and Roy Gordon, his nephew Michael Gunderson, his best friend since childhood Mike Casteel, and the many pets he befriended throughout his lifetime.
In lieu of flowers, we recommend a contribution to one of the many charities Richard supported throughout his life, such as the Wounded Warrior Project, Shriners Hospital for Children, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and Feral Friends Community Cat Alliance to name a few.
