FORKS — An 82-year-old Forks man who died after being struck by a vehicle Wednesday was friendly to all and exceedingly generous, longtime friends recalled.
James K. “Harold” Gunter died at Forks Community Hospital after being struck by a car on Forks Avenue near Division Street at about 11:10 a.m., city officials said.
He was crossing from the Forks True Value at 10 S. Forks Ave., which also is U.S. Highway 101, to the other side of the road mid-block, not at the crosswalk.
Forks police would not release the name of the driver whose vehicle struck Gunter, citing an ongoing investigation.
“We don’t believe there was any intoxication,” said Kelsey Pearson, agency records and evidence specialist and public information officer.
Gunter was a longtime Forks resident who owned several rentals as a property manager, Mayor Bryon Monohon said Wednesday.
He was also a private pilot who worked in the cedar business and served as taskmaster of Mount Olympus Lodge No. 298 in Forks, longtime friend Verlain Sackett said Thursday.
Generous man
“He probably gave away more money than most people will ever make,” added Carrol Lunsford, who knew Gunter for some 45 years.
“He was the most generous man you’d ever find in your life.”
Gunter once offered to fly Sackett to lunch in Seattle, but when they reached Sequim Bay, they noticed fog over Puget Sound and returned to Forks in Gunter’s small plane.
“For a man who only had vision in one eye, he was an excellent pilot,” Sackett said.
He added: “He was a great guy.”
A wonderful life
Lunsford recalled a recent conversation with Gunter in which his longtime friend said he had lived a “wonderful life.”
“We’re going to miss him,” Lunsford said.
Monohon had thought Gunter was in his 70s, but he was actually 82.
A little more than a month ago, another Forks pedestrian died of injuries after she was hit in the crosswalk of the intersection of Blackberry Avenue and East Division Street.
Mary Beth Carlill, 50, a prekindergarten teacher at Forks Elementary School, died at the hospital after she was hit by a car driven by Joani Foster, 84, of Forks on Dec. 6.
Forks police and the State Patrol are investigating.
“We are still waiting on some evidence to be submitted to the crime lab,” Pearson said.
“It is considered an open investigation.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
