Bill Dean Guthrie

November 7, 1939 - November 26, 2020

Preston, KS - Bill Dean Guthrie, devoted husband, loving father, passed away peacefully in his sleep Thursday, November 26, 2020. A nearly lifetime resident of Preston, he was born November 7, 1939, the last of 7 children to Alfred and Lucretia (Long) Guthrie. He worked a variety of jobs in early adulthood, even going so far as Walden, Colorado to work the oil rigs and live with his brother and his family in Cheyenne, Wyoming. After moving back home he continued a variety of work before being selected as a special constable to the Pratt County Sheriff while the sole administrator of town logistics of the time as well as township fire chief. In the late 1970's, he met Kathy Slater and after a courtship they would marry in 1979 at his father's home in Preston. It was during this time that he took on the role of elevator man for the Preston Co-op at their Turon branch and stayed there for the next 25 years, eventually becoming the Branch Manager. At the end of the turn of the century, he would opt for retirement and spent every day with his beloved bride of over 30 years until she passed in 2012. He would spend his remaining time looking after the home he spent a lifetime building with Kathy and doing all he could for their only son Alfred, he survives. He was preceded in death by his beloved bride, Kathryn; parents, Alfred and Lucretia; brothers, Alfred, Jr., James, and Duane "Buck"; and sisters, Leona and Betty Jo. Survivors are brother, Donald (Helen) Guthrie of Salem, Arkansas and dedicated son, Alfred Guthrie of Wichita. Visitation will be Thursday from 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Larrison Mortuary, 300 Country Club Rd, Pratt. Funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, December 4, 2020 at Larrison Mortuary. Burial will follow at Friendship Cemetery, Preston. Memorials may be made to Pratt Area Humane Society in care of Larrison Mortuary.