Lyle Gutterud

Lyle Gutterud, age 80, of Lengby, MN, passed away on Thursday, September 9th, at Essentia Health Hospital in Fargo, ND. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 17th, at Fridhem Lutheran Church in Lengby with the Rev. John Ragan officiating. Interment will be in Fridhem Lutheran Cemetery, rural Lengby. Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a 7:00 p.m. prayer service on Thursday, September 16th, at the Carlin Funeral Home in Fosston. Family will also greet friends for one hour prior to the service on Friday at the church. The memorial service will be recorded and available for viewing on the Carlin website after the service. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service and messages of condolence may be shared at www.carlinfuneral.com.

Lyle Melford Gutterud came into the world with his sister Lois on August 18, 1941 in Erskine, Minnesota to Melford and Emma (Noer) Gutterud. His father and grandfather both died when he and his sister were five years old. He attended school in Erskine until the 9th grade when he moved to Fosston with his family. He graduated from Fosston High School in 1959. He was very active in sports and music. He was in a trumpet trio that won a trip to New York City to audition for the Ted Mack Amateur Hour which was a highlight of his life. He attended UND for a year.

On June 22, 1963, he married his high school sweetheart, Cathy Bullock of Lengby. They were married for 58 years. When asked how long he had been married, his response was always “I’ve been happily married for 54 years. Out of 58 that isn’t bad.” Lyle is responsible for the witty banter that runs in our family.

To this union, five children were born, David, Diane, Karen, Kristi, and Daniel. He was very proud of his kids.  Lyle and Cathy purchased the Hartz Store in Lengby in 1965, which they owned and operated until 1987. Lyle worked at Robertson Lumber and T-Bears in Fosston and L &M Fleet in Bemidji until his retirement in 2011. In retirement, he said he couldn’t go south for the winter because he would miss his grandchildren’s sporting events. He was very proud of his grandchildren. Lyle’s family was very important to him. He was always ready to help any of them whenever they needed anything.  He loved to watch his children and grandchildren in all their activities.

Lyle was interested in every kind of sport. He was an avid fan of the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins. As a former Greyhound, he was a devoted supporter of the Fosston Greyhounds. His TV watching was mostly sports or old John Wayne movies. Deer hunting was his vacation. He loved hanging out with his hunting buddies at deer camp. Golf was also very big with Lyle, especially the 10th hole. He also loved his bowling league and his bowling buddies. Whether he bowled the early shift or the late shift, he seemed to arrive home at the same time.  He was the life of every party and loved to host. He made sure each guest had a beverage as soon as they arrived. He also loved to dance, which was not a talent that his wife shared. But he thoroughly enjoyed dancing with his daughters and his sister.

Lyle was a member of the Lengby City Council. He was mayor for 20 years but never filed for reelection. He had to move out of town to get out of the job. He was a member of Fridhem Lutheran Church where he served on the church council for several years as well as other positions. He was a member of the Lengby Improvement Club.

Lyle passed away on Thursday September 9, 2021, after a brief illness at Essentia in Fargo, North Dakota at the ago of 80 years and twenty-two days.

He is survived his wife Cathy, his children: Dave (Gina) Gutterud of Stillwater, Diane (Mike) Sundrud Fosston, Karen (Joe) Sohn of Lake Park, Iowa, Kristi (Jeremy) Mienert and Dan (Nikki) Gutterud of Fosston. Grandchildren: Amber Sweeney, Ashley (Ben) Slater, Anjali Gutterud, Ostan (Jen) Sundrud, Kendra (Blake) Olson, Hannah and Haley Prigge, Kyle (Katie Dodson), CalleeJo, and Kiya Sohn, Chelsey (Greg) Woolen, Tristan Mienert, Jacob, Aaron, Reid, and Shane Gutterud. He is also survived by eight great-grandchildren: Paige, Ellie, Katia, Gwynnie, Lexi, Gavin, Henry and Oriana Lyla who was born 9/11/21 and named after Great-Grandpa Lyle. Also survived by his twin sister Lois Giese of Virginia, Minnesota and brothers-in-law, Charles (Joan) Bullock of Syracuse, NY and David Bullock of Lengby. Several nieces, nephews, and cousins also survive.

He was preceded in death by his parents, mother-in-law Marion Bullock, brother-in-law Don Giese, sister-in-law Marian Bullock, and son-in-law Tom Prigge. Blessed be his memory.  Lyle will be missed by many, except for the baseball umpires.