Dr. Jerome Ronald Gutterman

Dr. Jerome Ronald Gutterman passed away Thursday April 30th, 2020 at the age of 80 years old in Sacramento, CA. Jerry was born May 18th, 1939 in Wilkes-Barre, PA to Lillian Jackier Gutterman and Harold Schuman, but officially took the last name of his adopted father, Louis J. Gutterman, at the age of 8. Jerry attended Elmer L. Meyers Junior/Senior High School graduating in 1956. He went on to attend Wilkes University where he obtained his degree in Biology in 1958, and his DDS from Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University in 1963. He was then one of only 4 people selected for the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine Endodontics program where he received his advanced degree in 1968. After serving in the United States Army as a Captain stationed in Fort Benning, GA, he became the first ever endodontist in Luzerne County (Wilkes-Barre), PA and thus began his illustrious career in dentistry. While on a flight home from Japan, Jerry would meet his future wife Gail Goldstein (Gutterman) of San Francisco, CA. They resided in Wilkes-Barre but shortly after the great flood in 1972 and birth of their first child, they moved to CA in 1974. After a brief period in San Francisco, they finally settled in Sacramento, CA where Jerry began to carve out his incredible reputation as one of the premier endodontists in all of Northern California. He and Gail were also responsible for bringing the Double Rainbow ice cream franchise to Sacramento in 1980. After building several successful endodontic offices throughout Sacramento, Jerry's life was forever changed on a family scuba diving trip in Cozumel, Mexico where he suffered a diving accident. Sadly, this caused severe nerve damage that would force him to retire from dentistry in 1992. He worked extremely hard and with fierce mental toughness to rehabilitate himself physically and mentally, continuing to live a fruitful life beyond dentistry. After working for Delta Dental for a number of years, he settled into a new career helping the Ikeda family build their gourmet gift basket division. Of course this was only made possible by Jerry's unique ability to build meaningful relationships with every single person he met. Jerry's uncanny ability to cultivate and nurture his relationships is his biggest legacy. When you were in Jerry's presence, you could feel it. His infectious energy and zest for life would permeate any room he walked into and came through in every conversation, even though he often did most of the talking. His love for people was beyond measure; his gift of gab and thirst for conversation was something he loved sharing with everyone. We love our father, grandfather, and dear friend so much - he is forever in our hearts. Jerry is survived by his two children Jamie Edelen and Michael Gutterman, his five grandchildren Jake, Brian, Luke, Alex, and Max, sister June Gutterman, and brother Bruce Gutterman. Due to Covid-19, a full memorial service will be delayed until further notice.