Richard Gutierrez, 69

Richard Gutierrez, 69, of Silverton, Idaho, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, after a prolonged battle with pulmonary hypertension.

Richard was born on Oct. 12, 1950, to Jesus and Eva Escargeca Gutierrez in Tokyo, Japan, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Army. The family later returned to Douglas, Ariz., where Richard attended local schools and graduated from Laredo High School.

In 1978, Richard moved to the Silver Valley where he married Debbie Hanan in 1979. The two later divorced. On Aug. 1, 1990, he married Connie Eichinger. In celebration of their 25th anniversary on Aug. 1, 2015, the two renewed their wedding vows with a blessing in the church. Richard’s passion for the outdoors was shared by Connie where they packed in on horseback to hunt and fish, later trading horses for ATV’s.

Richard was a miner for many years. He also had snow plowing contracts with the Wallace School District and his kids always blamed him for not getting snow days. He gathered firewood for personal use and for others who needed it, had a backhoe for landscaping and small construction projects aside from home improvement. Whenever the project fell just short of perfection, his comment was, “It’s better than it was.” He said it often enough that Connie told him she was putting that on his headstone.

Richard’s proudest achievement was the Shoshone County Gleaning Program. Through this program with the help of volunteers and monetary donations, more than 10,000 pounds of meat and fish were provided to the Shoshone County food banks. Sadly, his failing health caused the program to dissolve after five years.

He was a member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Wallace, Idaho, where he taught CCD and sang in the choir. His faith was very important to him. He was a Cub Scout leader and he and Connie fostered many children throughout the years. Music was a big part of Richard’s life. Not only was he an avid guitarist and vocalist, but he enjoyed playing the piano, auto-harp and harmonica as well.

Survivors include his wife of 30 years, Connie, of Silverton; four sons, Chris (Sheri) Eixenberger of Absarokee, Mont., Ed (Laurie) Gutierrez of Los Angeles, Calif., Rick Gutierrez of Canyon City, Colo., and Robin (Savanah) of Kellogg, Idaho; a daughter, Bernice Gutierrez of Tucson, Ariz.; two brothers, Frank (Bonnie) Guiterrez of Pueblo, Colo., and Jess (Lora) Gutierrez of Bisbee, Ariz.; a sister, Eva (Jim) Nichols of Phoenix, Ariz.; 11 grandchildren, Alexis, Brynne, Ramona, Maya, MaKenna, Jarrett, Sydney, Skylar, Easton, Cedric and Carl; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins; and Richard’s two best friends, Ted Pettis and Joel Nichols.

A memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Wallace, with Father Jerome Montez officiating. A potluck reception will be held following the service at Gene Day Park in Osburn, Idaho. Please bring a lawn chair. His urn will be placed in the family plot at Ninemile Cemetery in Wallace.

Shoshone Funeral Services, Kellogg, is assisting the family with arrangements. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family online at www.shoshonefuneralservice.com.