Christopher Eaton Gunn

New York and New Hampshire are the two states in which I spent most of my life. My parents moved to New York when I was in grade school. I graduated from Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar in 1962. From there I spent a year in Iowa for a first year in college; then back to New York with a transfer to Cornell, where I met my wife Hazel Dayton. I finished college in 1966 with my draft board breathing down my neck. I joined the Navy with a stint in Officer Candidate School followed by three years of service in naval hospitals, out in 1969, and back to Cornell for an MBA. An important part of that experience was an exchange year at the University of Louvain in Belgium. It was a great year, with lots of new academic experiences.

New Hampshire: I moved there at an early age and started school in Wolfeboro. My grandparents retired to Effingham from California and Hazel and I married in their home in 1966. I worked for three summers in Wolfeboro, a fine summer job with the Zuloffs. The Navy took me back to N.H. for some duty at the naval hospital at Portsmouth. From there the Navy in its wisdom sent us to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, nineteen months I would rather forget.

Finally free of the Navy I began work for an MBA at Cornell in 1970. Hazel and I wanted to stay in Ithaca, so after the year in Belgium I worked for the Graduate School of Business and Public Administration for about three years. Planning for doctoral studies filled my time; I was accepted in the Economics Department in a small program on Participation and Labor-managed Systems. I completed the PhD requirements in 1980, and was hired at Hobart & William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY, where I spent 34 years. I served time as Economics Department Chair, and ended up a chaired professor and professor emeritus.

After retiring Hazel and I moved back to Ithaca, a city we had grown fond of. Retirement took place at Kendal at Ithaca.

Travel filled much of our time. We have been to most continents. Dogs were important to us; a Newfoundland and a standard poodle stayed in our minds. Life was good. We did not have children. I was fortunate to find a wonderful wife and life companion. We would have celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary this December.

I am survived by my wife, Hazel Dayton Gunn; a brother, Thomas Gunn; and nephew, Benjamin Gunn (Melissa Oliver). I was preceded in death by my sister, Sara Gunn. Donations may be made to the Finger Lakes Land Trust.