A funeral service was held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church here on July 6 for Wellington County lawyer Hugh Guthrie.
He passed away at his home on June 28 after a brief illness.
Guthrie was the solicitor for Wellington County for over 30 years, and his firm has represented the county going back to the time it was created.
“Hugh Guthrie has served Wellington County so well for so long,” Warden Joanne Ross-Zuj said. “We had so much respect for him.”
Ross-Zuj said Guthrie was the type of person who did his best to explain the intricacies of law in terms county councillors could understand.
“The extras he did for us to make sure we understood” were a hallmark of Guthrie’s work with the county.
Ross-Zuj added, “His wisdom and experience was much appreciated … He was teacher, mentor – almost a father figure. I’m going to miss him greatly. There’s going to be a huge vacuum.”
Guthrie graduated from Osgoode Law School and was called to the bar in 1956. He practiced law in Guelph with the firm of Hungerford, Guthrie & Berry for nearly 55 years, and he was still active until his last days.
He sat on the bench of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and served on the board of directors of numerous public and private corporations and associations, such as Blount, Linamar, Homewood, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and the Ontario Hunter Jumper Association.
John Green first came to county council in 1983 and said Guthrie was already acting solicitor then for R.J. Hungerford, the firm that had served the county for well over a century.
Green, too, appreciated Guthrie’s approach to legal work.
“He was a confident, quiet man who explained things in layman’s terms so that everybody could understand,” Green said, adding, “It was always a pleasure to meet with him.”
County Chief Administrative Officer Scott Wilson called Guthrie “the quintessential gentleman and a county man through and through. He served the county well for many years.”
Wilson said Guthrie’s firm “has served the county since 1854.”
Wilson added, “He was very well respected by county council and staff alike. He was not only respected, but liked. He is really going to be missed.”
