Guenter Lange was born Nov. 9, 1929, to Emil Lange and Elisabet (Schwoble) Lange in Loewenberg, Germany. Guenter was raised with his siblings: Lotte (deceased), Ussila, Christa (deceased), Brigitte, Halmut (deceased), Haimg and Siegfried (unknown).

On Feb. 16, 1945, Guenter was inducted into the German Army and sent to the Eastern Front. He was captured and imprisoned by the Russian Forces. He escaped and made his way to the American lines at the age of 16. After the war he was educated at a trade school college where he earned an engineering license in diesel motors. This was through the Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) and Bosch Spark Plug Company.

Guenter came to the United States with a ship full of diesel buses. They docked in New Orleans, La., and drove to Omaha, Neb., which became his headquarters and home base. He became a U.S. citizen on Aug. 28, 1957. The Trailway Bus Company had their engineer in house for the Eagle model bus. After working a few years in the Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado area, he found the Empire Oldsmobile Company in Denver, Colo. He worked for them for several years and was promoted to shop supervisor and new vehicle register.

While in Denver, he met Rosemary Templin and planned a trip to Seattle, Wash., with a layover in Worley, Idaho, to visit her son, Robert E. Templin. Guenter retired from Empire Olds and moved to a home in Worley on June 19, 1998. There they lived and loved each other until Rosemary passed away in 2013.

Guenter passed away in his home in Worley on Dec. 20, 2016. He is now with his Lord, Jesus Christ and will be buried next to his beloved Rosemary in the Viola, Idaho, cemetery.

Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m. with the funeral service starting at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016, all at Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d’Alene Chapel. Private burial will take place at the Viola Cemetery in Viola. Please visit Guenter’s memorial and sign his online guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.