Manuel D. Gutierrez

Manuel D. Gutierrez, age 79, passed away peacefully in his home in Kohler on Monday, September 2, 2024.

Born Manuel de Jesus Gutierrez Martinez in San Cristobal de Totonicapán, Guatemala on June 8, 1945, he was the fourth of sixth children of the late Manuel and Maria Consuelo (Martinez) Gutierrez.

An avid reader, by the time he finished high school, Manuel had read every single book in the library of his youth in Quetzaltenango city, with his handwritten name on each book’s frontispiece as proof. Following high school in Guatemala, Manuel came to the US for undergraduate studies at Saint Louis University and prepared a PhD (ABD) in Economics and Mathematics at Saint Louis University, reaching candidacy in April of 1975.

In a St. Louis courthouse on March 25, 1971, Manuel was united in marriage to E. Michele Armon, his recently departed wife of almost 53 years.

After some years teaching at universities in New Jersey (Stockton College) and in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Manuel settled with his wife and children in Sheboygan and then Kohler for longterm work with the Kohler Company. Early on he held the amusing (but prestigious!) title of Senior Mathematician for Kohler, and later directed the Market Research area of the Kitchen and Bath Group’s International Division of Kohler, becoming part of Kohler’s Quarter Century Club. While at Kohler, Manuel was integral to large global change in the business. He created and actively wrote for a newsletter his department prepared for Kohler Co. worldwide on kitchen and bath trends and housing starts. He was always busy making predictions and preparing graphs of data for better visualization and understanding as his service to the field. 

Gutiérrez was very active with the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, a research center dedicated to advance policy and practice concerning housing, from which he was awarded a special recognition of achievement upon his retirement. Manuel was an active leading member of The Economic Club of Sheboygan, where he was given an emeritus award. He also had a stint in local politics, serving as village elder in the Village of Kohler for a number of years. 

Past his retirement Gutiérrez continued to do consulting work for various firms and kept up a blog on economic and market trends to keep his mind fresh and busy – EconLives. Those interested will enjoy visiting his travel blogs as well, even one he attempted to keep while recently hospitalized in India, already sick with the cancers that caused his unfortunate demise.

A bicycle racer in his younger days (with a nose surgery and metal wrist plate as witness to his speed!), he loved hitting the bike trails headed toward Plymouth. He maintained his biking into April of this year. It was during his long bike rides of upwards of 10-20 miles that he would memorize and repeat various works of poetry, such as Dante’s Inferno from La Divina Commedia; he would recite an entire canto each day on the trail. Other hobbies included some seriously deep dives into woodworking, whether making barbie doll houses with penthouses for his daughters or finely crafted miniature historic shipping vessels, and studying languages, of which Chinese stands out as receiving the most time for writing and speaking in the later decades of his life. Travel was a great passion of Manuel’s; always with his suitcase at the ready, he explored Morocco, Taiwan, Japan, Russia, China many times, India more than a few, and other parts of the globe.

Manuel is survived by his two daughters, Maya Consuelo (Claude Bauschinger) Gutierrez of Brooklyn, NY and Andrea Lorene (Jayant Sirohi) Gutierrez of Austin, TX; grandchildren, Siri Ratna Gutierrez Sirohi and Asha Sundari Gutierrez Sirohi; siblings, Maria Consuelo (Paco) de Perez de Anton, Remigio (Olga) Gutierrez, Roberto (Maggie) Gutierrez, and Carmen, la Chiqui, Gutierrez, all of Guatemala. He is further survived by beloved and dear nieces, nephews, other relatives, and numerous loving friends. 

Along with his wife, Michele, and his parents, Manuel was preceded in death by his sister, Gloria (Jorge) de Prado and his sister-in-law Mary Armon.

Beloved by co-workers, friends, and neighbors alike, Manuel’s demise is a sincere loss to a worldwide community, as he readily made friends wherever he went on the globe. 

A celebration of Manuel’s life will be held on Saturday, November 16 at Ballhorn Chapels in Sheboygan, with a 12-2 pm visitation and 2 pm onwards for gathering with words and music.

Memorial donations can be made in Manuel's name to the charitable fund set up in Manuel and Michele’s name for arts education scholarships: https://everloved.com/life-of/manuel-gutierrez/donate/checkout/?flow=202&. To leave an online condolence for the family, please visit www.ballhornchapels.com or his memorial website at https://everloved.com/life-of/manuel-gutierrez/