Dr. Bobby Gunter departed this life on Monday, August 28, 2023 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was born May 31, 1935, in Hackett, Arkansas, the son of Joe Nathan and Clara Mae (Coonce) Gunter. He graduated from Hackett High School in 1953 and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the College of the Ozarks (now the University of the Ozarks), a master’s in nuclear physics from Vanderbilt University, and a Ph.D in chemistry from the University of Arkansas, where some of his thesis research focused on hydrochemical vents in Yellowstone National Park.
After working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and as a health physicist for General Dynamics, Bobby went on to have a successful thirty-year teaching career at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma. There, he taught, mentored, and encouraged hundreds of young people, many of whom—like him—were first-generation college students. He treasured his students, liked and respected his colleagues, and took seriously the mission of education.
After his retirement in 1995, Bobby returned to his home state of Arkansas, where he spent a long, happy retirement hunting, fishing, raising cattle, and walking in the woods among his beloved Ouachita Mountains. His family and friends always looked forward to visits with him, as he was a delightful conversationalist and devastatingly witty.
Bobby was the proud father of five children: Joel Gunter of Cincinnati, Ohio; Valerie Gunter of Indiana, Pennsylvania; Lauren Brooks of Lumberton, Texas; Nathan Gunter of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and John Gunter of Blanchard, Oklahoma. He was grandfather to five: Eric Gunter of New Bern, North Carolina; Stephanie Gunter of San Francisco, California; Kevin Gunter of Princeton, New Jersey; and Knox and Greer Gunter of Blanchard, Oklahoma. And he was proud great-grandfather to Liam Gunter of New Bern, North Carolina. He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Nathan and Clara Mae; brother, Billy Gunter; sister, Betty McAfee; and first wife, Ella H. G. Olson. He spent his final years in the company and care of his ex-wife and soulmate, Kathleen Gunter. He also is survived by a beloved sister, Sharon Brewster of Van Buren, Arkansas.
Memorials may be made to the Dr. Bob Gunter Memorial Fund at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU). Memorials may be made by mailing a check payable to “SWOSU FOUNDATION” with ‘Gunter Memorials’ noted in the memorandum line to: SWOSU FOUNDATION, 100 CAMPUS DRIVE, WEATHERFORD OK 73096. Memorials may also be made by visiting www.GiveToSWOSU.com and contributing to the Dr. Bob Gunter Memorial Fund, or by calling the SWOSU Foundation, Inc. at 580-774-3267.
To share a memory or leave a message for the family, please visit www.mcconnellfh.com.
