Audio Video News

Godehard A. Guenther, of Concord, MA, and Reno, NV, physicist and home electronics entrepreneur, died on October 16, 2014, at the Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice Residence in Wayland, MA, following an inspiring battle with gastric cancer.

Born on April 9, 1939, in Bochum, Germany, he demonstrated an early acumen for engineering, building transistor radios out of scrap metal during the American occupation. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree in physics at the University of Göttingen and a PhD in astrophysics at the University of Heidelberg, where he met his wife, Adelheid (née Bott).

Always enterprising, he funded his studies and many hobbies with freelance photography and geological survey work for clients around Germany. He joined the National Academy of Sciences as a fellow in 1968. A year later, the newlyweds emigrated to the United States where Dr. Guenther worked with a group of scientists at the Marshall Space Flight Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Huntsville, Alabama, to develop an experiment that was part of SkyLab, America's first space station.

He left NASA in 1972 to pursue his growing interest in acoustics by dedicating himself to pushing the size and performance boundaries of extant audio equipment. He was a pioneer in American high fidelity consumer electronics and went on to found a/d/s of Wilmington, MA, and soundmatters, based in Reno, NV. His work in the electronics industry involved extensive travel in Europe and Asia, and he was a "million mile flyer."

He was also a gifted amateur architect who partnered with professionals to build aesthetically demanding buildings in several states. A lover of music from every era, a gifted pianist, a refined oenophile, and with a particular fondness for Chinese and Japanese culture, cuisine, and art, he will be remembered for his unique combination of brilliance and humor, and for his endless enjoyment of his work. He inspired his family and his colleagues with his zest for life, his Wanderlust, and his imagination.

He is predeceased by his parents and both of his siblings. He is survived by his wife, Adelheid, of Concord, MA, and Heidelberg, Germany, as well as by his three children, Christoph and his wife Sandy of Bamberg, Germany, Barbara and her husband Simon of London, United Kingdom, and Katja and her wife Tuppett of Pasadena, CA, as well as by seven grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Social Service Fund for Needy Patients, Massachusetts General Hospital, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1310, Boston, MA 02114. For online guestbook, please visit deefuneralhome.com.

Soundmatters Announces Passing of Founder Dr. Godehard Guenther