The Joe and Marge Gunn family was honored as SDSU’s first Family of the Year at halftime of the Family Day game Oct. 13, 1979. Pictured, back row, from left, are SDSU President Sherwood Berg, patriarch Joseph Gunn (with plaque) and his children, Theresa, Steve, Mary (now Sieler), Jennifer (now Brynjulson), Paul, Diane (now Gildemaster), Students’ Association President Jerry Schmitz.
Kneeling, from left, Jeff, Patrick and Scott.
Not pictured are the mother, Marjorie, who was in Huron conducting a South Dakota Federation of Garden Clubs state meeting, and sister, Deb, who was in Washington, D.C., working for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
For 35 years, the university has been handing out the Family of the Year award, usually based on a family’s long history with the university.
However, it might be argued that the 1979 award—the program’s first—went to the family with the most potential.
Joe and Marge Gunn, of rural Lyons, were in the process of raising 10 children when they were chosen. At the time, the oldest, Paul, was already an SDSU graduate. Another three were attending SDSU. When the youngest, Patrick, graduated with his Pharm.D. in 2006, eight of the 10 had a degree from State. Four of their spouses are SDSU grads and four grandchildren now attend or graduated from State.
Now overseen by Staters for State, the student arm of the SDSU Alumni Association, families of the year are selected based on dedication, loyalty, support and contributions to SDSU, members of family who attended SDSU and involvement as students and alumni.
Raising 11 children (one son died in 1977) while working at the John Morrell packing plant in Sioux Falls didn’t allow Joe Gunn to be a contributor to the university. He went from high school to the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War and then to John Morrell.
Marge Gunn had a three-year nursing degree from Presentation College.
Influenced by Grandma Westli
Their parents had eighth-grade educations. But one grandmother, Anni Wesli, steadfastly pushed her grandchildren to get a higher education.
Diane (Gunn) Gildemaster said Westli, who emigrated from Germany as a young girl, “shared with us often that education is the way to a better future. She would often state that it is something that you achieve and others cannot take away from you.â€
The words were heeded. All 10 of the surviving children earned a college education and seven received graduate degrees.
Gildemaster was a freshman at State when she nominated the Gunns for the Family of the Year award.
Gildemaster recalls that the nomination was produced as a result of a meeting with Loren Boone, then director of University Relations, which recently was renamed University Marketing and Communications.
Parents surprised by award
Notice of the family’s selection came in the form of a letter that was received while Joe and Marge Gunn were celebrating their 25th anniversary in the Black Hills. Jennifer (Gunn) Brynjulson was a junior in high school and overseeing a younger sister and three younger brothers while their parents were gone.
When Joe and Marge Gunn called to check on the kids, Brynjulson mentioned they had received a letter from SDSU. The parents told her to open the letter and read it to them. They couldn’t believe its contents, Brynjulson said.
Nearly the entire family attended the ceremony, which was held in October during halftime of the Beef Bowl, she said.
Deb Gunn, a University of South Dakota graduate who was working in Washington, D.C., was the only sibling unable to attend. Marge Gunn also had another commitment. She was president of the South Dakota Federation of Garden Clubs and its state meeting was in Huron that day.
Prior to the ceremony, Joe Gunn was interviewed by a reporter from the Collegian, the SDSU student newspaper.
“The one thing I can remember about the interview with my dad was he said that education is important. And my family is still proving that to be true,†Brynjulson said.
Parents still treasure award
She isn’t sure how the family initially became attached to SDSU. “We really didn’t associate too much with SDSU or go to Brookings too much before Paul,†Brynjulson said.
But they soon found Brookings and SDSU to their liking. “We all were very comfortable going to SDSU. It seemed to offer what we wanted in terms of academics. It was a small enough university that it didn’t scare us coming out of a very small school (Tri-Valley),†she said.
Joe and Marge Gunn, now 83 and 81, moved from their acreage 20 miles northeast of Sioux Falls to Dell Rapids in 1984. The Family of the Year plaque moved with them.
“The plaque has always been on the wall and around it are all of our pictures. It’s always been in a prominent place,†Byrnjulsen said.
The Gunn family siblings (in chronological order)
•   Paul Gunn graduated from SDSU in 1978 with a BS degree and from USD with a master’s and with a specialist in education degree. Now teaching at Tiospa Zina Tribal School. Two children, Shane and Zachary, attended/attending SDSU.
•   Deb Gunn graduated from USD with a BA degree and from Georgetown University with a Juris Doctor. Now working as a lawyer in the Pentagon.
•   Robert Gunn attended S.D. School of Mines and Technology before his death in 1977.
•   Steve Gunn graduated from SDSU with a BS in 1980 and a master’s in economics in 1984, works for Department of Agriculture in Loveland, Colorado.
•   Mary Gunn Sieler graduated from SDSU with BS in mechanical engineering in 1982 and from University of Washington with a master’s degree in business administration. Works in a civilian post for the U.S. Navy in Bremerton, Washington.
•   Diane Gunn Gildemaster graduated from SDSU in 1984 in park and recreation management, and from USD with a master’s in park administration. She now is a district park supervisor with City of Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department. Her spouse, Kurt, graduated from SDSU with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering, worked recently with SDSU conducting research and now works for CarsforSale.com.
•   Jennifer Gunn Brynjulson graduated from SDSU with BS in history, now a secretary with Sioux Falls School District. Spouse Glenn graduated from SDSU with a BS in journalism and now is a medical coder at Avera.
•   Theresa Gunn graduated from USD with a BS in history. Later received computer tech training and holds an IT position with the Visiting Nurses Association in Craig, Colo.
•   Jeff Gunn graduated from SDSU with a BS in history in 1990 and from Northern State University with a master’s in counseling, now a counselor at Warner School District. His spouse, JoAnn Starks-Gunn, attended SDSU and graduated from Presentation College. Son Keith attends SDSU in pharmacy, daughter Ashley attends SDSU in English education.
•   Scott Gunn graduated from SDSU with a BS in computer science, now does IT work with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Des Moines, Iowa. Spouse Stephanie (Wilson) Gunn graduated from SDSU in 1989 with a BS in Spanish, now works with the National Pork Board.
•   Patrick Gunn graduated from USD with a BS and from SDSU with a Pharm.D. in 2007, now a pharmacist at Hy-Vee in Sioux Falls.
Editor’s note: This year’s Family of the Year award will be presented at the Feb. 21 women’s basketball game. To see the 2015 selection or to nominate a family for 2016, go to statealum.com and click on events.
