Carol Guthrie

Carol Bischman Guthrie died May 18, 2004, under hospice care, at her winter home in Bismarck. She was 74 years old. No funeral service will be held, though a memorial gathering will be held at her Montana home in early June.

Carol was born May 14, 1930, in Joliet, Ill., and was raised by her parents, Harold and Amy Bischman, in Davenport, Iowa. A member of the Phi Beta Kappa sorority, she attended Monmouth College in Illinois, majoring in English literature and history. In 1952, she married Herbert W. Luthin Jr., of Hinsdale, Ill., with whom she had two children; they lived in Lake Bluff, Ill., for some 14 years until their divorce.

She remarried in 1969, this time to author A.B. "Bud" Guthrie, Choteau, Mont., where upon she moved to Montana with her children. During the school year, they lived in Missoula, Mont., but spent their summers at their cabin northwest of Choteau, Mont. In 1975, she and Bud built themselves a year-round home and moved to Choteau permanently. They lived there together until Bud's death in 1991. At that time, she began spending her winters in Bismarck to be closer to her daughter's family. She was there when illness overtook her, preventing her spring return to Choteau.

Reading was a way of life for her, especially history and biography, though she always settled down with a good mystery in the evening. After her marriage to Bud, she also served as first reader and editorial advisor for all his books and articles. She had a keen interest in conservation, and enjoyed gardening, folk music, and conversation with her many extraordinary friends around the country.

Carol is survived by her children, Herbert William Luthin, Clarion, Pa., and Amy Guthrie Sakariassen, Bismarck, and their spouses Kay Fineran Luthin and Erik Sakariassen; her grandchildren, Alexander and Emily Sakariassen and Margaret Luthin; her brother, Harold R. Bischman, Bettendorf, Iowa; and her nieces, Jane Marie Bischman, Salem, Ore., and Elizabeth Baustian, Des Moines, and their families. She is survived by her stepchildren, A.B. Guthrie III, Choteau, and Helen Miller, Butte, Mont.

Memorial contributions may be sent either to the Montana Nature Conservancy or to the Choteau Public Library in Choteau, Montana, 59422. (Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck)