Iconic historian passes away

SANDPOINT — Bob Gunter’s passing on Wednesday morning is a blow to the community in more ways than one.

His friends and family must endure the loss of a man who brightened lives with his wit, passion and intelligence. And given Gunter’s friendly nature and prolific friendships, that means a lot of people are walking around town this week with their heads hung a little lower.

“I just can’t say how much I’m going to miss him,” friend Barbara Blood said. “He was such a good friend to me.”

However, there’s a loss that runs deeper than the natural pain of saying good bye. It’s a loss that impacts everyone in the community whether they know it or not. Gunter’s departure represents a profound setback for intellectual life in Bonner County.   

Longtime readers are doubtless familiar with Gunter’s thirst for knowledge. They had a window into his treasure stores of information on regular basis thanks to his columns. Gunter had a drive to learn, to discover and to trace back. His intellectual curiosity pieced together a wonderful story of a community growing up, filling out and dealing with the joys and hardships along the way.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and that man knew more about Sandpoint’s history than I could ever hope to,” admirer Jack Parker said.

Here at the Daily Bee office, we always enjoyed Gunter’s visits, during which his congeniality and clever insights were an entertaining disruption to routine. Then again, Gunter always had a knack for shaking a person out of complacency and making him or her think.  

That’s just one of the qualities that endeared him to best friend Erik Daarstad. The two met in 2001 when the city sought out Daarstad’s cinematic expertise for the “Sandpoint Centennial” movie covering the community history. Gunter offered his expertise, and the two dove into Sandpoint’s history together.  

“We just decided to join forces, and that’s how everything got started,” Daarstad said.

In Gunter, Daarstad found a true friend, an intellectual sparring partner and a political kindred soul.

“Bob had an excellent sense of humor,” Daarstad said. “I just really enjoyed his company.”

The extent of Gunter’s contributions to the community can’t be fully calculated at this early stage. It’s unlikely they ever will be. To his readers, he was a storyteller, a teacher and an entertainer. To his family, he was a faithful and dedicated patriarch. And to us at the Daily Bee, he was one of our own.

We’re all going to miss him.