John Lyle Guthals

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our father and brother, John Lyle Guthals, on December 11, 2024. John was born on October 6th, 1960, to his parents, Dr. Laurance and Kathleen (Scott) Guthals, in San Angelo, Texas. John had two siblings, Larry Guthals and Kathy (Guthals) McAlpine.
Growing up, John was an extremely inquisitive child. He would often knock on the neighbor's door and ask Mrs. Reynolds if Mr. Reynolds could come out and play. From there, he would follow Mr. Reynolds asking any question he could think of for hours on end. These early interactions ignited John's love of all things mechanical and figuring out what made things work. This skill would serve him well throughout his life.
John graduated from San Angelo Central High School and was a member of Holy Angels Catholic Church. Before long, his son, Chris Guthals, was born. With Chris's birth, John's second passion became obvious – loving Chris and teaching him everything that he knew.
John was employed by Wellington Apartments where he performed apartment maintenance for close to 20 years. After a short stint at Angelo State University, John began work with his current employer, Shannon Medical Center. He continued working at Shannon in the engineering department until his death.
Holidays brought John a tremendous amount of joy. For many years he helped bring the July 3rd Pops Concert fireworks and the Lake Nasworthy fireworks show to life. John loved everything about the Christmas season, especially the decorations and his mom's icebox cookies. Decorating for the holidays was a hobby he likely learned from his grandparents J.L. and Bertha Guthals. His family always enjoyed the fact that John would crawl onto the roof to hang Christmas lights for just about anyone who asked.
John is survived by his son, Chris Guthals, and his sister, Kathy McAlpine and her husband Mike, all of San Angelo. He is also survived by a very special aunt, Janelle Schlaudt of San Angelo, and an uncle, Jerre Guthals and his wife Connie of Colorado. John is also survived by nieces, Missy Terrell and husband Doug of San Angelo, and Sara Guthals. Other survivors include his cousins Terrie, Ken, Donna, Val, Blaine, Karen and Kim. John is also survived by his very good friend, Ford Smith of San Angelo.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Larry, and nephews Benjamin Guthals and Greg Guthals.
Funeral mass will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 16th at Holy Angels Catholic Church in San Angelo. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association or a favorite charity.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." - Ecclesiastes 9:10