Obituary: Bob Gunther, 85

Robert Edward “Bob” Gunther, a longtime Oceanside resident and owner of Gunther’s Greenhouse & Florist, died on Dec. 15. He was 85.

Gunther was born in North Bellmore in 1930. He moved to Oceanside with his mother, father and brother, Fred, in 1948 when his father purchased a greenhouse range on Terrell Avenue, which would come to be known as Gunther’s Greenhouses and then later Gunther’s Greenhouses & Florist.

In May 1952, Gunther was married his wife Martha and immediately was off to Korea, where he served proudly in the U.S. Army. Upon their father’s passing in 1969, Bob and Fred took the reins to the business until Fred retired in 1997. Bob continued to run the business right up until the time of his passing at 85 years old. If you have children who went to elementary school in Oceanside or the surrounding area, you probably have received a plant at some point in time that was grown by Gunther, since he supplied many of the local schools and churches with their plant sale material.

Gunther received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Long Island Flower Growers Association, where he served as board member and later treasurer for many years. If you wish to make a donation in his memory, the Long Island Flower Growers Association Scholarship Fund would be appreciated. You can reach them at 631-886-2213.

For almost 40 years, Gunther was a volunteer worker for St Anthony’s Bingo, where he was the caller for the later part of his career.

He is survived by his three children, Alice Jackson, Christine (Jack) Riggs and Robert; his grandchildren, Travis, Allison, Kevin (Kristen), Lauren (Brandon), Christopher, Todd (Laura) and Jennifer; and his great-grandchildren, Natalie, Dylan, Erin and Cooper.

A funeral was held on Dec. 19 at St. Anthony’s Church in Oceanside, followed by a burial at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury.