Scholarship established in memory of Anna Gutekunst
Anna Gutekunst presents UF Health Shands Hospital Auxiliary scholarships to Ashley-Marie Bodor and Kathryn Swanson at the college’s 2012 convocation ceremony.
The College of Public Health and Health Professions will offer a scholarship in memory of Anna Gutekunst, a longtime supporter of the college and university, and an active community volunteer, who passed away Nov. 29, 2014.
The Anna F. Gutekunst Scholarship will be presented annually to a PHHP student who has been actively involved in service activities provided through UF, UF Health, and/or community organizations.
Gutekunst joined the Gainesville community in 1980 when her husband Richard Gutekunst was named dean of the College of Public Health and Health Professions, then the College of Health Related Professions. Their support of the college continued long after his retirement in 1994. They made generous donations to the university, funding PHHP scholarships and establishing the Edwin and Florence Fetterman Women’s Athletic Scholarship, named for Anna Gutekunst’s parents.
As a member of UF Health Shands Hospital Auxiliary, Gutekunst accumulated 17,850 volunteer hours over more than 30 years of service. She was a fixture at the hospital and was loved by everyone who met her, said friend and fellow auxiliary member Alicia Churchill.
“She was known for her smile,” Churchill said. “And she had a wonderful sense of humor. She really did. She didn’t take herself too seriously and that was one of her greatest assets.”
Among her auxiliary duties, Gutekunst served as head of the group’s scholarship committee and she loved to present scholarship awards to the student recipients at various Health Science Center events, Churchill said.
“With the passing of Anna Gutekunst our college lost a beloved family member,” said Michael G. Perri, Ph.D., PHHP dean and the Robert G. Frank endowed professor of clinical and health psychology. “For more than 30 years, Anna was passionately dedicated to supporting our college and our students. She was a sharp, quick-witted, funny and kind person who will be greatly missed.”