Kenneth Gunrud

Kenneth Ellsworth Gunrud was born on June 7, 1914, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Kolbjorn Gunnerud and Julia Charlotta Johnson. He died on October 10, 2013, at age 99 from a severe asthma attack. Ken was the oldest of five children. He had one brother, Norman, and three sisters, Edith, June, and Doris. Ken grew up during the Great Depression and lived by the saying, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Ken worked at Northrop Aviation during World War II. He met and fell in love with Donna Jean Speight and they married on June 27, 1949. They too had five children. Ken was a carpenter by trade and built their home on Navajo Street with his own hands, where they lived for 62 years. Throughout his years as a carpenter he worked on numerous construction projects in the Salt Lake Valley and took great pride in the contribution he made to each of them. He would undertake almost any project and truly believed that any job worth doing was worth doing well. Ken loved cars but never had a new car himself. He also enjoyed taking pictures at family gatherings. Ken is survived by his wife, Donna, and their five children: Gary (Renate), Pam (Jim) Butterfield, Garth, Lane (Diane), and Lynn (Sarah); 11 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren, a sister, Doris Skinner Nessen, and two sisters in law, Ruth LaVerne Wilkes and Beth Speight Packard. Special thanks is extended to Garth for the loving care and assistance he provided to his parents over the years. A viewing will be held from 6-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15 at Redwood Memorial Estates, 6500 S. Redwood Road and a memorial service will be held on Wednesday, October 16 at 2:00 p.m. at the same location, with a viewing from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. Burial will be at Redwood Memorial Estates.