Cecil E. Gunsbury
Cecil Ephraim Gunsbury passed away peacefully on May 7, 2005, at Bethany Good Samaritan Village, Brainerd. He was 99.7 years old. He previously lived in Nisswa, Minn.; Longmeadow, Mass.; Closter, N.J.; and Kew Gardens, Surrey, England.
Cecil led a full and colorful life. Born in the Sultan's place during a revolution in Istanbul, Turkey, where his father had taken the family on business. He was only 10 days old when the family fled the country on a freighter. He grew up in England and traveled throughout Europe with his father, an international attorney. He attended Oxford University, England, and New York University, New York City, to study medicine after immigrating to the United States.
The Great Depression forced him to suspend his studies. He started a motor repair shop, later expanding it to a trucking business. Eventually, before retirement, he was a partner with Red Circle Freight Line, one of the largest transport firms on the East Coast. Since 1986, he was a business adviser for the Quarterdeck Resort and Boathouse Restaurant on Gull Lake.
Throughout his life Cecil pursued many interests: fishing, sailing, heavy-weight boxing, bird watching, reading, gourmet cooking, mechanics and weather forecasting. He was a biplane pilot during the Lindbergh era and a volunteer paramedic in Teaneck, N.J., for many years. During WWII he served as an adviser for emergency transportation to New York City and also competed on the nationally ranked Garden State Pistoleers Team with his son, Alan. He was president of the Teaneck, N.J., Rifle and Pistol Club.
Cecil's (Grandpa's) legacy of generosity and belief in each person's potential to be the best they can be lives on through his family, friends and acquaintances.
Cecil is survived by his son, Alan Gunsbury (Jane), Nisswa, Minn.; grandchildren, Lee (Terry) Seipp, Nisswa, Minn., Laurie (Walter) Leja, Mount Prospect, Ill., Gay (Chip) Zyvoloski, Sauk Rapids, Minn., Curt (Catherine) Gunsbury, Minneapolis, Minn., and Brent (Jenny) Gunsbury, Nisswa, Minn.; 12 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his parents, Francis and Alice (Tomlin); his brothers, Lawrence and Edgar; his first wife, Wilhelmina; and his second wife, Julia.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, May 21, at 12:30 p.m. at The Quarterdeck Resort and Boathouse Restaurant with a memorial service to follow at 1:30 p.m. with the Rev. Lilja Behr officiating. Memorials are preferred to Bethany Good Samaritan Village. Services entrusted to Brenny Funeral Chapel of Baxter.