John Gutierrez

John Gutierrez, beloved husband, father, and friend, passed away at the age of 88 on October 8th. As a 19yr old WWII Army AirCorps gunner, Gutierrez's Flying Fortress, a 4-engine heavy bomber aircraft, was shot down over Kassel, Germany on July 28, 1943. After almost two years imprisonment at the infamous Stalag 17B camp, he was one of more than 4,000 prisoners of war forced to endure an 18-day, 281 mile march through rugged, freezing Austrian terrain when the Germans fled the approach of the Russian forces. On May 7, 1945, he was liberated by Gen. Patton's Third Army. Mr. Gutierrez received his Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Houston and was a Certified Professional Engineer. Over the course of his career, he was invited to be a guest speaker at numerous lectures and seminars in the U.S. and Latin America for which he received many honorary awards in his area of expertise. After 40 years of service for Houston Natural Gas (later Enron), he retired as Superintendent over the Corrosion Control Dept. He went on to teach ESL for Houston Community College/AAMA until one month ago when he became ill. He leaves to mourn his wife of 67yrs, Clara; children, Hilda Gutierrez, Mari Perez, Maria Elena and Ray Villalovas, grandson Reggie Villalobos and wife DeAnna, two great grandchildren, Reggie Jr. and Zoe.

A visitation will be held on Friday, October 12, 2012 from 6-9pm at Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home with a rosary to be recited at 7:00. Funeral service will be on Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 11am with interment to follow at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery.

A reception will be held in the funeral parlor immediately following the burial.

The family wishes to express their love and appreciation to the entire George and Mary Gabel Family for their love and support throughout the years and especially to their children Kathy Gabel and Dr. Gerard Gabel.