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Beloved doctor, friend, passes

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George E. Gutmann

JANESVILLE — Laughter was a medicine Dr. George Gutmann took often and with gusto.

The beloved Janesville physician died Saturday. He was 91.

A patron of the arts, an advocate for the sick and dying and an amateur painter, Gutmann was a man of boundless energy and humor, friends said.

Gutmann liked to raise his voice in song, study the Bible and support local causes. But most of all, he loved a good joke. Or a bad one.

Gutmann and longtime friend Bill Westphal poked a lot of fun at each other. The two men sang in the First Lutheran Church choir. At a practice one day, Westphal kidded Gutmann by comparing him to another George who was on the cover of Time magazine that week, the unconventional 1980s singer Boy George.

Months later, Gutmann showed up at a choir party dressed as the flamboyant pop star.

Gutmann was no fool, however. He was a respected physician and an intellectual who could talk theology, said his pastor, the Rev. Jim Melvin of First Lutheran.

“For me, he was the supreme example of how you care for people,” Melvin said. “The compassion he felt for people—no matter who they were—he was a shining example of that.”

Melvin said Gutmann was born into a Christian family in Germany. The family had Jewish connections, however, so his parents sent him to Scotland in 1934 as Jews were feeling increasingly threatened by Adolph Hitler and his Nazi Party.

Gutmann studied to be a physician in Scotland and completed his studies in the United States. He came to Janesville to work as an internal medicine specialist in a clinic in 1948.

The Pember Nuzum Clinic later became Riverview Clinic. Gutmann worked there 40 years.

In his early years, he would even make house calls, Westphal recalled. But he was far from old-fashioned.

Gutmann pushed to create Mercy Hospital’s first intensive care unit. He was among the founders of a doctor/clergy group, the Visiting Nurses Association and the local hospice organization.

Gutmann threw himself into pastimes such as singing in church and community choirs, playing bridge and playing piano.

Gutmann married Eleanor Ehrlinger of Janesville, and together they raised five daughters.

Ellie, as she was called, also was active in local choral music. The couple met at First Lutheran, where she, a widow, was the organist. A 1990 article in the Gazette told of the couple’s 50-year devotion to local music. They donated their time to the Janesville Concert Association, among many other efforts.

Eleanor died in 1998.

Gutmann didn’t worry about what others thought of him, friends said. He was known to burst out in song in church.

Church member Lori Stottler described one of Gutmann’s favorite jokes:

“He had this real heavy accent, and he would look at us with this big grin and say, ‘you know what? I don’t think I like you very much.’ And then he would laugh and say, ‘just kidding.’”

Gutmann’s legacy includes his family.

“He passed on what he has to them. They’re fantastic,” Melvin said.

Church secretary Jeanie Pomplun said Gutmann was always positive and would beam in delight at the children at church.

“He was a character, and he just loved life,” Pomplun said. “He would say that over and over again.”