Todd Gutschow Obituary
san diego, Wisconsin, United States
November 26, 1960 - January 31, 2017
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Todd Gutschow Obituary
Nov 26, 1960 - Jan 31, 2017
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Gutschow, ToddTodd Gutschow passed away on May 31, 2017 at his home in Poway, CA at the age of 56. He was born on November 26, 1960 and grew up in the Wisconsin town of Sheboygan. His childhood was quintessentially Midwest, with many adventures up the apple tree in his front yard, working the fields on his Grandpa's farm, fishing excursions to little known watering holes with his grandparents, and recreational games between all the local community parks.His unyielding pursuit of learning led him to the halls of Harvard University. There he refined his mind and body, completing a bachelor's degree in physics with cum laude honors while grappling on the wrestling team.After settling in San Diego, CA, Todd embarked on an entrepreneurial venture in software technology. HNC Software began in October 1986 as a two-man, garage start-up but would eventually grow to over 1200 employees and expand across the globe into international markets. HNC was an early pioneer of neural networks, allowing computers to recognize patterns in the same way a human brain does. Their most successful deployment of the technology was to detect potentially fraudulent credit card purchases. If you have ever received an alert about a fraudulent charge, that was HNC. The company went public on June 20, 1995 and continued growing for the better part of a decade. HNC was acquired by Fair Isaac Company in 2002 at which time Todd decided to move on to the next chapter of his life. Todd's passion shifted to the universal right to a quality education. He served on the Board of Directors for several organizations including the Boys and Girls Club, supporting early learning opportunities, the Classroom of the Future Foundation, incorporating technology in education, and the AVID program, preparing those who would become the first in their family to attend college. He set up the Todd and Mari Gutschow Foundation to pass on the fruits of his labor to enrich a variety of K-12 educational programs. Todd was the local Harvard admissions representative, interviewing prospective applicants and he was always so proud when one of his interviewees was accepted.He was instrumental in the formation of the Poway Wrestling Foundation, which expanded resources to develop a state-of-the-art wrestling facility on the Poway High campus. Todd also served on the advisory board for the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego. He was elected to two terms on the Poway Unified School District Board of Trustees where he served as clerk, treasurer and president. Todd promoted the scientific literacy of our children and the stewardship of our natural resources by supporting the Hubbs Sea World Research Institute as a member of the Board of Trustees. He believed economic innovation did not have to come at the cost of our environment.Todd is survived by his wife of 33 years, Mari, his three sons Patrick, Matthew (Mindi), and Nathan, his father, Roger Gutschow (Judy), his mother, Emilee Adamavich (John), and his brothers Chris (Annette), Eric (Lolo), and Steve (Liz).A prayer vigil will be held at Poway-Bernardo Mortuary on June 12th from 5-7pm with the service starting at 6pm. The funeral services will be held at St. Gabriel Parish on June 13th at 11am with a reception to follow in the Parish hall. Please visit the mortuary's website and find Todd's obituary page for more information and links.In lieu of flowers, a Todd Gutschow Memorial Scholarship has been set up to honor Todd's support of public education. Donations may be sent to: The Sheboygan Public Education Foundation, 605 North 8th Street, Suite 214, Sheboygan, WI 53081
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