With the death of Darlene Gutsch Sept. 13, the Marion County Record has lost another faithful country correspondent.
Gutsch took over the task of collecting and reporting Burdick community news in February 2005. She replaced Richard Forsberg.
According to her sister, Doris Winkler of Marion, her family teased her that she was following in Marjorie Nienstedt’s footsteps with her news column. Marj was an aunt.
Collecting the news was important to Gutsch. Doris said Darlene had a doctor’s appointment Monday but had told her son, Perry, “I just need to stay home and get my news done.”
He took her to her appointment, and she died the next evening at Herington Municipal Hospital. A full life sketch appears elsewhere in this newspaper.