Vern Gurnsey

Vern Gurnsey died Friday morning at the Boise home he shared with Kitty, his wife of 56 years. He lived a full life as a self-made man who loved fishing most of all. Born near the Columbia River in Husum, Wash., his first fishing companions included Native American kids who lived nearby and a British aristocrat who taught him to tie flies. In his corporate years, he tied flies on airplanes during business trips, and the family meal tradition was fish on Monday´s after his weekend on a river. Late in his career, when one fishing pal grew sick and frail, Vern carried him to the boat so they could continue to catch fish and release them, to be caught another day. In recent years, his sons, Steve and Scott, served as his most constant fishing buddies, with trips to the Salmon River, Alaska, and British Columbia as the highlight of their year. To his delight, once in awhile, they even out-fished their father. Growing up in White Salmon, Wash., his family finances never let him consider attending college, but in a happy coincidence, a scout from WSU saw Vern lead his high school team to the state baseball championship and offered him a baseball scholarship. Because of the scars Vern suffered in a childhood wood cutting accident and a high school near-fatal car wreck, he was rejected from the marines during World War II after a serving a stint of a few weeks. Vern decided to try college instead. During the war men on campus at WSU were so rare that he once had to run in a track meet in one town and then take his first plane ride to play in a baseball game in another a few hours later. Since he grew up in the woods, Vern majored in Forestry and graduated with honors in 1947, going to work right away as a forester for a series of companies. In this time, he met Kitty where she worked at the Forest Service Office in McCall, and asked her out on the spot. His employer at that time, Boise Payette, evolved into Boise Cascade Corporation. His integrity and work ethic led this poor kid from White Salmon into accomplishments that he couldn't have imagined. Over more than 30 years with Boise Cascade, he worked up from forester to a vice president of the company, and he served in a variety of national, regional and local positions within the timber industry. Taking early retirement at age 55, Vern dabbled in a number of investments including a tree farm in Washington State, and kept himself busy while serving on various boards, including the YMCA and the Idaho Association of the Humanities. The Idaho Statesman named him a distinguished citizen and he received an honorary Ph.D. from Washington State University. Always artistic, he learned to paint in both watercolors and oil, as an alternate indoor activity when he just didn't need any more fishing flies and it was too cold to fish. He called these years his "Mr. Kitty time" as his wife became active in state politics, and he went along for the ride. His children: Kris Johnson (Ted) of Seattle, Steve (Carolyn) and Scott Gurnsey of Boise, and granddaughters: Clare, Nicole, Alice, Lisa and Emma all remember him as an intelligent, curious, and wise man who offered support and insight whenever it was needed. We all know that we were truly loved, and will remember him in the great outdoors. He could banter with the best, kept learning all of his life, and he taught all of us to fish, at least a little. A family celebration of Vern's life will be at the First Presbyterian Church. If you wish to offer a donation in Vern's memory, please send it to the Boise YMCA. As a personal remembrance, simply go stand by water somewhere; he'll be there, and the fish will be celebrating.