Known lovingly as Dub, he was born November 20, 1930 to Charles Emery and Beulah (Scott) Gutshall. The second of seven children, he was a lifelong resident of Adrian and a 1948 graduate of Adrian High School. Dub married Bonnie Balsiger on September 7, 1957 in Miami, Oklahoma. Over their 62 years of marriage, they were blessed with four children who each put their own roots down in Adrian. A veteran of the U.S. Marines, Corporal Gutshall served stateside in San Francisco during the Korean War from 1952-1954.
In 1962, Dub and Bonnie started Gutshall Oil, a company they would run for nearly 30 years. While it was a job filled with hard work and long hours, he enjoyed driving in his bulk truck to deliver an essential good to farmers throughout Bates County. During that same time, they raised their family on 80 acres, east of Adrian, they purchased from his grandpa. They lived on the farm until 2010, when they moved into town.
In 1972, they purchased a cabin at the Lake of the Ozarks which has become a key place for family gatherings for four generations, even today. He loved taking the family to the lake and spent hours pulling his kids around in their boat.
In his younger years he enjoyed riding motorcycles and playing snooker at the pool hall. Dub’s main hobby throughout, however, was his family. Whether it was making his famous cornmeal mush on Christmas morning for the whole family or helping make sure his children were well taken care of or helping cut cord upon cord of firewood, he led with an approach of actions speak louder than words. With a wry sense of humor, he came up with a nickname for each granddaughter, which stuck even into adulthood. His jokes carried over to his animals too, whether it was the original names he had for them like “Dog” or how he’d scoot close to Bonnie just to get the dogs to bark.
He could be serious too, making sure each grandson knew how to properly shake a hand and reminding his grandkids as they visited from college to “remember what you’re there for.”
Dub loved to work, whether it was running his own business, buying houses to flip or mowing. He often said “I’d rather wear out than rust out.” When he was hospitalized late in 2019, he told the hospital staff his hobby was work and he looked forward to mowing with his fleet of Wheel Horse mowers soon.
Besides being a pillar for his family and a hard worker, he was an active member in the community and an encyclopedia of its history. He looked forward to his daily trips to the coffee shop, whether at the Homestead House or eventually Casey’s and the VFW. Each morning, he also made trips to Crystal Manor and Adrian Manor to visit with residents.
While he enjoyed helping the community of Adrian by attending local fundraisers including the Western Missouri Antique Tractor Association, perhaps his biggest contributions were done quietly, whether that meant filling someone’s propane tank who was in need, making and delivering meals to other senior citizens who were unable and picking up trash cans for the entire neighborhood.
He lived out the motto of: take care of your business, your things and your people… and we’re all better for it.
Dub was preceded in death by his parents, brother Jim Gutshall and sister-in-law Charlotte Gutshall. He is survived by his wife Bonnie of the home, daughters Kim Young, Kelly Reichert and Kirsten (Scott) Collier, all of Adrian and son Kent (Charlotte) Gutshall of Adrian, six grandchildren Cole (Jessica) Young of Raymore, Collin (Sara) Young of Leawood, Kan., Dani (Nathan) Tirey of Clinton, Jordan Reichert of Adrian, Bailey (Josie) Collier of Archie and Kameran Collier of Adrian; eight great-grandchildren Gavin, Archer Wilson and Andi Tirey, Dawson Clyde and Maren Young, and Ensley, Gabriel and Lucca Young; three brothers John (Wilma) Gutshall, Paul (Darlene) Gutshall and Charles Gutshall and two sisters Levon (John) Musgrave and Dee (Bob) Abplanalp and sister-in-law Ginger Gutshall.
