Elizabeth Eastment Guthrie

Elizabeth Eastment Guthrie, wife of the late Eugene H. Guthrie, former Associate Surgeon General of the United States, died on June 20, 2018, at the Eleanor A. Koons Hospice House in Easton, MD, at the age of 92. Mrs. Guthrie was born in Philadelphia, PA, the daughter of the late Helen and Charles R. Schultz, Sr. She graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, DC, in 1944 and attended George Washington University, where she was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority. During World War II, Mrs. Guthrie was a secretary for the British Air Commission in Washington and later was secretary to the Executive Director of the American Association of Nurserymen. In 1948, she married Eugene H. Guthrie. During Dr. Guthrie’s career in the U.S. Public Health Service, she and her husband lived in Baltimore, MD; Ann Arbor, MI; Walnut Creek, CA; and Chevy Chase, MD. While living in Chevy Chase, she was active in The Officers’ Wives Club, The Jean S. Cole, Jr. Circle of The Florence Crittenden Home, Chevy Chase Junior Women’s Club, and Chevy Chase United Methodist Church. In 1972, Dr. and Mrs. Guthrie and their three youngest children moved to Easton, MD, where she was active in St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Easton and Christ Church in St. Michaels, Tidewater Performing Arts Society, Choptank American Antique Art Association, The Talbot County Garden Club, the Riverview Garden Club, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and the Junior Auxiliary of Easton Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Guthrie served on the Boards of Directors of St. Mark’s Village, the Talbot County Medical Auxiliary, Easton Day Care Center, and the Talbot Hospice Foundation. She and her husband were members of the Talbot Country Club and Harbourtowne Country Club. In 1981, when Dr. Guthrie was Health Officer of Talbot County and helped to found the Talbot Hospice Foundation, she became one of the two first volunteer coordinators for the Foundation; a position she held until her retirement in 1986. She continued to work as a Hospice volunteer until she and her husband moved to St. Michaels in 1994. Mrs. Guthrie is survived by six children, Stephen H. Guthrie of Charleston, SC (Bonnie), Linda E. Capps of Cary, NC (Kirby), Michael D. Guthrie of Apopka, FL (Allison), Matthew C. Guthrie of Easton, MD (Gretchen), Leslie A. Grunden of Cambridge, MD, and Melissa E. Guthrie of Morrisville, NC; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren who loved their "Grammie" dearly. She was preceded in death by a brother, Charles R. Schultz, Jr. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 28, 2018, at 11 a.m. at St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Easton. Burial at Arlington National Cemetery will be private. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to Talbot Hospice Foundation, Inc., 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, MD 21601.

Elizabeth Eastment Guthrie

December 30, 1925 - June 20, 2018