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player ready...Trailblazing entrepreneur, philanthropist and civil rights advocate Carlton Guthrie passed away May 9 in Chicago at age 73.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Gary, Guthrie was one of the founders and board chairman of the Gary Alumni Pathway to Students (GAPS).
Guthrie attended school in Gary and was valedictorian at West Side High School in 1970, where he played baseball, football and basketball.
He graduated cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in urban economics and later attended the Harvard Business School and earned a degree in management and finance.
He served as co-chairman of Detroit Chassis and SPECTRA, LLC, a group of automotive-related companies he founded with his brother, Mike Guthrie. Carlton Guthrie was also CEO of Magnys Innovative Solutions, an engineering firm, and co-owner and board chairman of HealthCURE.
Former Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson credited Carlton and Mike Guthrie for encouraging her to attend Harvard, where she received her law degree.
She said the two brothers came to Roosevelt High School to show students what they could achieve and encouraged them to consider Harvard.
“I would not even have thought to apply,” said Freeman-Wilson.
“He and Mike were sort of the talk of Tarrytown – not just that they went to Harvard, but they started a business and became the ultimate example of a shining success.
“He was always a north star for so many of us.”
Carlton Guthrie often attributed his success to his parents, Willie and Mary Guthrie:
“My interpretation of the essence of what our parents taught us kids — derived from countless lessons learned as a very observant and sensitive middle child growing up in that tiny Tarrytown frame house in the early 60’s – is ‘Give and ye shall receive…’
“This has been my ever-present gyroscope, guiding my life-long personal and professional transformation…”
Guthrie never forgot Gary and its students.
In 2016, he founded GAPS at West Side.
“He believed deeply in Gary, Indiana. He believed deeply in young people,” said Lisa Bennett, GAPS chairwoman and acting executive director.
“And he believed deeply that success meant reaching back and lifting others as you climbed.”
Bennett said Guthrie understood the importance of “college and career readiness” long before it became an education buzzword.
Under Guthrie’s vision, West Side students gained mentors, scholarships and career pathways. Alumni became engaged and community partnerships were strengthened.
“He helped build confidence, hope, direction, and belief in generations of students and families,” she said.
Guthrie also served for more than three decades on the board of directors for the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation, a private, nonpartisan philanthropy that advocates public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility in the Great Lakes region.
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In a statement on Guthrie’s death, the Foundation said: “He was drawn to Joyce’s ambitious mission of improving lives in the Great Lakes region and its willingness to take the lead within philanthropy on supporting issues like gun violence prevention.
“Among his many affiliations and board memberships, Carlton proudly and notably created the Guthrie Family Scholarship for students in Gary, Indiana and South Haven, Michigan.”
Guthrie is survived by his wife, Dawn, son Adam and daughter Carille, along with grandchildren and his extended family.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Trinity United Church of Christ at 400 W. 95th St., Chicago.
Carole Carlson is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.