Warren Edwin Guthrie

Warren "Chip" Edwin Guthrie, age 64, of West Olive, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, March 27, 2025. He was born on September 8, 1960, in Park Forest, IL, to his parents, the late Joseph and Elizabeth (Berkon) Guthrie. Warren married Laurie Greenwood on June 14, 1986 at St. Hubert's Catholic Church in Illinois.

Warren graduated from Flossmoor High School in 1978 and then attended The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, class of 1982, where he studied Electrical Engineering and was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He then received his Master's degree from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1990. Warren's career spanned several decades, during which he developed several technologies we all use today. At Motorola, he helped design the antenna in the world's first commercial cell phone. With General Electric, he worked on the first modern MRI machine. At Northrop Grumman, he advanced the world's GPS infrastructure and designed stealth technologies used in fighter jets. Warren was a prolific scientist and inventor for most of his life, having over 65 granted patents to his name (this is probably a big underestimate, we literally could not find all of them). Most recently, he started a successful consulting company, Phase 1 Engineering, with his friend and business partner, John Videtich.

Warren was a skilled craftsman who always found new projects where he could apply his talents around the house, making furniture, homemade maple syrup from his maple trees, and intricate landscaping designs. The name "Warren" is French-English in origin, and has the meaning "protector"; he felt a strong responsibility and worked hard to live up to his name. He was best known for always being there for others when needed, caring deeply for his family, mentoring people at work and in the community, living out his Christian faith with devotion, and being extraordinarily brilliant.

Anybody who knew Warren will remember his unquestionably unique (and silly) sense of humor. Warren loved the outdoors; his favorite trips involved hiking, camping, canoeing, backpacking, and fishing. He enjoyed watching hockey as well - he was a lifelong Chicago
Blackhawks fan. Music was a huge part of Warren's life, since childhood he had a fascination with audio equipment and electronics. His musical interests were appropriately broad: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Genesis were a constant fixture in our home, but more eclectic sounds such as Enya, Jefferson Airplane, and Brian Eno were also part of the rotation.

Warren will be forever remembered and missed by his wife of 38 years, Laurie; his three daughters: Melissa, Stephanie, and Tessa Guthrie; his three sons: Matthew (Erin Scanlon), Wesley (Madeline), and Casey Guthrie; granddaughter Evelyn; sisters: Gale Jo (Tom) Whitworth and Sandy (Dave) Beal; brothers-in-law: Martin Greenwood and Dennis (Kathie) Greenwood; and many nieces and nephews.
The Memorial Service for Warren will be held at a later date to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of donor choice.

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