Guthrie Packard

W. Guthrie Packard, Jr. of Prescott, Arizona died on March 15, 2026, of natural causes and a self-described steady rise in general orneriness.

An Arizona native and classic gentleman cowboy with a distinctive grey walrus mustache, Guthrie had a voluminous, reverberating, and unmistakable laugh that was only outdone by his endless, lifelong passion for Arizona State athletics. He could be spotted easily in and around ASU football and baseball games in his yellow Sun Devil baseball hat and white baseball jersey. 

William Guthrie Packard, Jr. was born to William Guthrie Packard, Sr. and Helen Davis Packard on April 17, 1945, at the Diamond W Ranch in Tucson. His childhood was split between family homes at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and Rancho de los Caballeros in Wickenburg. He graduated from Culver Military Academy, where he captained the varsity tennis team and played polo, then attended Arizona State University, where he was an active member of Pi Kappa Alpha, an association that developed a multitude of close, decades-long friendships. For the entirety of his adult life, Guthrie was engaged fervently in numerous organizations supporting ASU. 

In 1967, Guthrie and his brother, Peter, founded Packard Cattle Company in Elbert, Colorado. The ranch expanded to a 22,000+ acre operation raising purebred Simmental, Shorthorn, Limousin, and Maine-Anjou cattle. Over the years, Packard Cattle Company earned a reputation as a pioneering leader in artificial insemination and embryo transplants while also earning numerous Grand Champion titles at all major U.S. stock shows including Houston, Chicago, National Western (Denver), and American Royal (Kansas City). The Packard brothers partnered with two other American ranches in 1974 to import the first fullblood Maine-Anjou cattle into the United States. Their thirteen fullbloods served as the initial stock for a breed now broadly represented in ranches across North America. 

Guthrie and his brother, Peter, gifted Packard Stadium to Arizona State University in honor of their father in 1974. At the time, it was the largest single gift ever to any educational institution in the state of Arizona. Packard Stadium served as the home of ASU baseball for over 40 years. 

In the late 1970s, Guthrie spearheaded the foundation of Major League Rodeo, a team-based rodeo league consisting of six franchises across the American West. The highlight of his ownership in the Denver Starts occurred when they won the MLR World Championship in 1978. 

In 1980, Guthrie moved with his family to the Valley of the Sun where he was involved professionally in a variety of marketing and promotional enterprises for nearly 35 years. He later relocated to Prescott where he volunteered enthusiastically with the World’s Oldest Rodeo. 

Throughout Guthrie’s life, he served on the board of directors of a number of organizations supporting educational, civic, and livestock causes including: The Sun Angel Foundation, Arizona State Alumni Association (Fundraise Chairman), Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University, The Culver Legion (Vice President), American National Cattlemen’s Association, American Maine-Anjou Association (President), Colorado Simmental Association, Pikes Peak Cattlemen’s Association, Pikes Peak Range Riders (Ride Director), Desert Caballeros, El Paso County 4-H Foundation (President), and Pikes Peak 4-H Foundation. He was a member of The Broadmoor Golf Club, The Garden of the Gods Club, The Country Club of Colorado, the El Paso Club, and Pinnacle Peak Country Club. In 2012, he was admitted into the inaugural Hall of Fame class of the American Maine-Anjou Association. 

Guthrie is survived by his longtime partner, Karen Anne DeTorres of Prescott; his brother, Peter Davis Packard of Tucson; two sons, William Guthrie “Trey” Packard III (Caroline) of Richmond, Virginia, and Heath Andrew-Austin Packard (Lisa) of Auckland, New Zealand; and four grandchildren. Plans for a celebration of life are in progress. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to support Arizona State athletics.