obituaries

John Gohn Guenther, 89, of Buffalo, NY passed away peacefully on January 13, 2023 in Gulfport. Funeral services will be held Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. at Most Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, 5800 15th Ave. S., Gulfport (727-347-9989). A celebration of life will follow immediately after the service at O’Maddy’s Bar and Grill, 5405 Shore Blvd. S., Gulfport.

A pioneer computer programmer, entrepreneur, gadget inventor and jazz piano enthusiast, John was born in Buffalo, NY to John and Dorothy Guenther on December 29, 1933. “Jack” grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Buffalo with his brother and six sisters. A carefree lad (his mother called him mystery boy as a result of his performing inexplicable stunts), life became more serious after he graduated from Saint Bonaventure University and next served in the U.S. Marine Corps and Army during the Korean War.

In February 1958 John married his lifelong love Mary McOmber. Initially he went to work for Remington Rand Corporation in their accounting department. He convinced them to let him take a computer aptitude test and scored very high on it, which earned him a position in their programming department. Shortly thereafter he went to work at IBM as a programmer analyst.

An entrepreneur at heart, John observed a computer market niche largely ignored by IBM in the late ‘60s and started his own programming company with another IBM colleague. They named the company Programming Sciences Inc. While at PSI, they pioneered an interactive learning system for teaching computer system operators. By the early ‘70s the company was listed on the stock exchange, had expanded nationwide and internationally, and employed a large work force.

In addition to running PSI and nurturing a growing family that reached nine children, John found time to develop gaming prototypes such as the water weenie (bought out by Whamo), chess by mail (in pre-internet days), and a tabletop football game.

Even though PSI continued to hold great prospects, an ill-starred banking relationship forced the company into bankruptcy in 1974. After moving to Florida, John went on to various enterprises. He eventually settled down at R.F. Carlson Co. in Sarasota, enabling a return to his first career of computer skills.

While at R.F. Carlson, he did a lot of custom programming and developed a programming method that was adopted by Microsoft. John was a beloved figure at RFC, mentoring younger workers who looked on him as a teacher, guide, and father figure. He eventually retired in Sarasota and later moved to Gulfport.

Post-retirement he was involved with volunteering at Meals on Wheels, tending his beautiful garden that often drew raves from passers-by, practicing on his piano keyboard, and took greatest delight in his growing “garden” of grandchildren.

John Guenther is preceded in death by his parents, John and Dorothy; his brother, Joseph; and sisters, Mary Ann and Dorothy; and grandson, Robert.

John is survived by his adored wife of 64 years, Mary; sons and daughters (with spouses) Bob (Marianne), Gary (Jill), Karen (Gary), Kathy (Steve), Mark (Susan), Greg (Marybeth), Lynne, Joe (Maddy) and Julie; sisters Betty, Carol, Jane, and Linda; 17 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to Meals on Wheels. The website for the local chapter is networktoendhunger.org/mowsp.

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