Keith E. Gunther

1915 - 2015

Gunther, Keith E. Strengthened and comforted by the sacraments of the Catholic Church, died on August 29. He is survived by his devoted wife and best friend, Berkeley Sloan Gunther. He will be remembered as the loving father of Paul, Ed, Rick, Don, Nina and the late Bob. Their mother was the late Nina Gleeson Gunther. He was the dear stepfather of Buzz, Ruth, Carter, Steve, Lucia and the late Beth. He was Papa Keith to 21 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Keith was born in St. Louis in 1915. After graduating from St. Louis University in 1940, he worked in New York for NBC doing experimental television and at WHN Radio serving as Assistant News Director. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the Navy where he spent four years aboard aircraft carriers, including the Intrepid in the Pacific. He was released in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant. He joined KSD-TV in January of 1947, and helped put the station on the air, making Channel 5 the first post-war television station in the country. From the beginning, he was Program Buyer for the station as well as Production Manager. He later became Public Affairs Director. He produced and directed both live and pre-recorded programs including symphonies, baseball and football games and network specials. In 1958, he was appointed Program Manager. He developed many programs for KSDK including MiddayAM, Newsquiz 5, and Operation Challenge, a documentary about an isolated suburban African-American community, which won a national Emmy award. He was also directly involved in the supervision of Channel Five's news department. He was Chairman of Public Relations for the St. Louis Chapter of the Red Cross and also served on the board of the St. Louis Repertory Theater. Keith was appointed to the board of the Pulitzer Broadcasting Company on December 30, 1973, and became Vice-President of Program Development for all Pulitzer stations in 1980 before retiring in 1982. He was one of the founders of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Television Arts and Sciences, and served as National Trustee for two terms. In June 1985, he received the Governor's Award from the local chapter of NATAS, and in June 2007, he was inducted into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame. During his retirement, he audited college courses in philosophy, acted in local theater productions and played golf and tennis until he was 93. In accordance with his wishes, his body has been donated to the St. Louis University School of Medicine. His family will celebrate a Memorial Mass at a later date. Donations to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Im macolata Church, 8900 Clayton Rd., 63117, will be gratefully appreciated. A SERVICE OF THE LUPTON CHAPEL