Alta Guthrie

Alta I. Guthrie, 106, of Mendon  passed away on July 26, 2018 in the North Adams Home in Mendon.

Alta was born on March 19, 1912 at Mendon  the daughter of the late Charles B. Evans and Isadore (White) Evans.  She was baptized on June 8, 1913 and became a member of the Mendon Congregational Church July 1, 1928.  She graduated from Mendon Township High School in 1929 (valedictorian of her class) and from Western Illinois State Teacher’s College with a Bachelor of Education degree in 1933.  She was a member of the Kappa Delta Pi, a national honorary fraternity and the Diana Klub, a girl’s social organization at Western.   On July 11, 1934, she married Winfred Guthrie in the home of her parents.   He passed away on June 12, 1984.

Surviving are two daughters, Diana (Dale) Simon of Coatsburg, IL and Phyllis (James) Wildman of Colorado Springs, CO; three grandchildren, Delinda (Tom) Hawkins of Galesburg, Darren (Brooke) Simon of St. Charles and Lindsey (Michael) Suggs of Colorado Springs, Co.; seven great-grandchildren, Clark and Reid Hawkins, Sophia and Jack Simon, Grant, George and Griffin Suggs.

She was in a local Bridge Club for 70 years.   She lived most of her life on the same family farm outside of Mendon. She worked hard and this is what she would say attributed to her good health.  She would repeat, “I’ve lived a good long healthy life.”

She remembers the horse and buggy, the sleigh, mud roads, walking to school in the deep snow, the first radio and TV, living with no electricity and picking gooseberries and blackberries.   She remembers when peanut butter was first marketed and all the other firsts and changes in her 106 years of life.   She was well known for her fresh rhubarb and apple pie.

Services will be 11:00 A.M. on Monday July 30, 2018 in the First Congregational Church of Mendon with Pastor Bruce Willard officiating. Interment will be in the Mendon Cemetery. Visitation will be from 10:00 A.M. until the time of services in the church on Monday. Memorials have been suggested to the First Congregational Church of Mendon. You are invited to share memories and leave condolences at www.hunterfuneralhomes.com.