William Charles Guenther, 103 years young, of Laramie, Wyoming passed away on October 20, 2025 surrounded by loving family.
William was born on December 17, 1921 at his grand parents’ home in Stewartville, Minnesota. His parents were Clayton Guenther and Helen (Forney) Guenther.
The family moved a number of times during the depression years, living in five different states, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Most of their residences were in small towns, some of which have almost disappeared from the map. Crookston in the Sand Hills of north central Nebraska is the town which most closely exemplifies this category.
Guenther enrolled at the University of Iowa in 1939. In 1942 he joined the Army Air Force Reserve as did many college students. In February of 1943 the entire reserve was called to duty, thinning out the colleges and universities. After training as a navigator, he was assigned to a B-17 crew, stationed at Horham, England, about 80 miles northeast of London. The crew completed 35 missions in March of 1945. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and 6 Air Medals (One Medal, 5 Clusters).
In 1943, he received his BA in absentia. After the war he completed his master’s degree in 1946 (University of Iowa) and received his PhD in 1952 (University of Washington).
In 1955, he married Norma Berry of Riverside, California. They welcomed children Eda and Clark to the family before relocating to Laramie in 1959 when William was invited to join the faculty at the University of Wyoming (which he would tell you was very good fortune due to a series of reasonable choices and unforeseen lucky breaks). After settling in Laramie, they welcomed children Paul and Lee Ann. Norma (nana) passed away in 1988.
Before joining the statistics department at the University of Wyoming in 1959, he held positions at the Naval Ordinance Laboratory (Corona, California), Arizona State, and Fresno State. His refereed articles appeared in a number of journals and five of his self-authored text books were published.
He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a fellow of the American Statistical Association. In 1983 he received the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award. After 33 years as a professor, he retired in 1992.
His lifelong interest in classical piano began in high school. Over the years he did take a few lessons and tried to play, but only for himself. Since 1945, he was able to attend numerous concerts given by touring professional musicians, some of whom had international reputations. He was a seasoned Bridge player and played a mean game of Cribbage. As a member of the Laramie Duplicate Bridge Club, he achieved the rank of Silver Life Master.
His favorite activities were dependent upon walking. These included hiking, exploring, and fishing. During his lifetime he participated with a number of outdoor organizations, small informal groups, and 18 active elder hostels. The adventures took him to every western state with intensive coverage in some areas. Non-technical mountains summited included Mount Adams in Washington , San Gorgonia and San Jacinto in Southern California, and (of course) Medicine Bow Peak. He regretted that he managed to include only a trivial part of unlimited possibilities. He considered himself fortunate to have seen a lot of the west before it was so well developed and to have employment with an office that could be reached with a 10 minute walk.
In 2000, during an elder hostel at the Grand Canyon, he met Verna Vornbrock, a widow from Minnesota. They were married in 2001 and shared many adventures, they celebrated 22 years of marriage before Verna passed away in October 2023.
William is survived by his four children Eda Guenther, Clark (Rhonda) Guenther, Paul (Joan) Guenther, Lee Ann Guenther; grandchildren Cristy (Jason) Helmick, Cameron (Michaela) Guenther, Grady Guenther, Arc (Vasu) Guenther, Angela (Frankie) Spiegelberg, Shannon (Scott) Kellerman, Aaron (Elizabeth) Huffsmith; great-grandchildren Heath (Elizabeth) Spiegelberg, Braeden Spiegelberg, Kelton Spiegelberg, Avarie (Jack) Martin, Nolan Schleisman, Miriam Huffsmith, Emma Huffsmith; great-great-grandchildren Easton Martin, Briar Martin; along with many extended family members.
If you knew William (Bill, Dad, Grandpa), you may not be surprised to know that he helped write his own obituary to make sure we got our facts straight. His presence will be deeply missed by those who knew and loved him, but his memories and wisdom will live in our hearts forever.
A celebration of life with military honors will be held at 1pm on Sunday November 16, 2025 at the Laramie VFW, all who knew and loved him are welcome to attend to share their memories.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity or support your local Veteran’s organization.
So sorry to hear that your remarkable dad has left us...my condolences to the Guenther family. I first met Dr. Guenther as a UW freshman student in Statistics 101. Fortunately, we later became friends and neighbors and enjoyed a shared love for the mountains. Hopefully, he had one more hike on a splendid autumn day and enjoyed the aspens along the trail!
Bill was a tough Bridge player. I talked to him about the B-17. My father was a mechanic on the B-17 at the same time Bill spent the 1940's in England and I loved talking to him about the planes. Our Bridge Club will miss him.
War hero, great father, decades long fixture of the University of Wyoming faculty, fair hand at cribbage, and the Larry Bird of pulling weeds. Mr. Guenther was a second father to me when I was in high school. I remember once when we took him on a backpacking trip to the Wind River range, he was out hiking us (badly!), and he said that it would be way easier for us to just always stay in shape instead of trying to get into shape before a trip. Yeah it would be..... if beer had never been invented! 103 is a blessing, but it is still always too soon. Much love and condolences to all of the Guenther family.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, the staff and volunteers of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, we would like to extend our deepest condolences for your loss. Please know the passing of your loved one is felt by all those who honor the Greatest Generation and their sacrifices.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, the staff and volunteers of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, we would like to extend our deepest condolences for your loss. Please know the passing of your loved one is felt by all those who honor the Greatest Generation and their sacrifices.
Tom and I met in 1971, sitting in the front row of his statistics class in the Commerce and Industry (C&I) classroom. When we bought our forever home on Kearney, he was our neighbor several blocks down. Bill would stop by on his daily walks to the park Tom and he would talk about life. We will miss his frequent walks.
Clark, Rhonda and family, so sorry to hear of your loss. It sounds like he was a great man who enjoyed life. Hugs and love! 💖Mike & Ruth
We extend our sincere sympathy to the Guenther family as they celebrate the life of Bill. He was a dedicated avid mountain hiker, a sharp numbers guy, and enjoyed coming out to his mountain cabin. We were Bill's neighbors for over 20 years. We loved seeing him hiking and taking in all the Wyoming seasons in the mountains. He was Blessed with a long active life which surely contributed to good health. Thinking of you, Clark and Rhonda, and grateful you are continuing the Guenther legacy at the Guenther family cabin. Good memories for all of us!