Martell Vance Gunter

Martell Vance Gunter, 84, of McCammon, Idaho, passed away peacefully at home on March 12, 2026, after a long illness. Born on April 18, 1941, in Pocatello, Idaho, to Zeb Vance and Rebecca Capell Gunter, he remained an Idaho boy at heart. He cherished the outdoors, especially the mountains, pine trees, and canyons, and was an accomplished hunter and marksman whose many big game trophy mounts reflected his skill.

After graduating from Marsh Valley High School in 1959, Martell trained at Idaho State College Vo-Tech Print School and began a lifelong career in the printing industry. He started as an apprentice at the McCammon News and later worked at various job shops and weekly newspapers, including the Wyoming State Journal in Lander, Wyoming; the Power County Press in American Falls; The Caribou County Sun in Soda Springs; the Blackfoot News; Gateway Printers; and finally the Idaho State Journal, where he worked for 38 years before retiring in 2003. In the summer of 1961, he spent time in Alaska working for the Department of Fish and Game on Kodiak Island as a stream guard, developing a deep love for the state’s rugged beauty and its hunting and fishing opportunities, to which he returned many times.

On January 19, 1962, Martell married Jill Rowe in the Logan Utah LDS Temple. Their wedding day coincided with the blizzard of the century, yet it proved a lasting blessing as they shared 64 devoted years together. They raised four sons: Ralph, Scott, Matthew, and Russell. A lifelong active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Martell served in many capacities, including as bishop, stake president, temple ordinance worker, and missionary in the Minneapolis Minnesota Mission alongside his wife.

Martell is survived by his wife Jill; his four sons and their wives, Ralph and Valerie Price Gunter, Scott and Elaine Ottesen Gunter, Matt and Erika Babb Gunter, and Russell and Hallie Telford Gunter; his sister Nadine Gunter Marlow and brother-in-law Jay Marlow; his sister-in-law Janet Gunter; 18 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; and many beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Joan Paradis, his brother Gary Gunter, his brother-in-law Terry Peterson, his daughter-in-law Natalie Hall Gunter, his grandson Dawson M. Gunter, and his great-grandson Ryker Zane Marley.