Fred L. Gunter, 87, of Thornton, NH., died peacefully at his home on November 10, 2022, after a courageous battle with Leukemia.
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on October 21, 1935, he was the son of Fred and Jennie (McCullough) Gunter.
Fred graduated from Belmont High School, in Belmont, MA., class of 1953. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954 and then entered the US Army. He served in the 82nd Airborne as a paratrooper and was honorably discharged in 1956. Fred returned to MIT in the Aero/Astro Department, in 1957 and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees, graduating with honors in 1960.
After graduation, Fred joined AVCO Systems Division, later merging with Textron in 1984, where worked on missile flight test evaluations. He eventually became director of the Advanced Ballistic Re-entry Vehicle (ABRV) program. The program designed re-entry vehicles as a part of the Peacekeepers Program from the US Department of Defense.
Retiring from Textron in 1993, Fred moved to his self-built home in Thornton, NH., where he served on the planning board for several years.
Fred enjoyed numerous activities over the years including Scuba Diving, hiking, woodworking and traveling. His favorite past time was skiing. Fred loved to ski the East Coast and the Rocky Mountains, but he mostly loved to take his annual treks to Zermatt, Switzerland, which he did for 25 years.
Fred was a kind soul who will not only be missed by his family, but his friends, near and far.
Fred was predeceased by his grandson, Shea McCarthy.
Fred is survived by his wife of 45 years, Louise (Arel) Gunter, his daughter, Susan McCarthy, his grandchildren, Conor McCarthy, Bridget McCarthy, his stepdaughter Linda Tellier, step grandchildren, Leanne Tellier and Trevor McGuire.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Trinity Parish, Saint Matthews Church, School St., Plymouth, NH., on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022 at 11am. The Rev. Mark Dollard, pastor, will be the celebrant. Burial will be held at 2pm in the Mad River Cemetery, Thornton.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leukemia Research Foundation, 191 Waukegan Road, Suite 105, Northfield, Il. 60093 or
www.leukemiarf.org