Louise C. Guthrie, 97, public relations professional

Louise C. Guthrie, 97, formerly of Wayne, a longtime public relations professional, died Monday, Sept. 22, of heart failure at Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, where she was a resident.

From 1967 to 1982, Mrs. Guthrie was the director of school and community relations for the Upper Merion School District. After retiring from the school district, she ran her own public relations business.

She served as a charter member and vice president of the Pennsylvania School Public Relations Association and as vice president of the Pennsylvania Community Education Association.

Born Louise Calbert in Shelbyville, Ind., Mrs. Guthrie received a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from the University of Kentucky in 1940.

She began a career in journalism, working first as a reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal and then as head of the news and advertising bureau for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

She married Marshall B. Guthrie in 1941. Marshall Guthrie, a dermatologist and clinical pharmacologist, would later develop the formula for Contac cold medicine.

As a young doctor's wife, Mrs. Guthrie was among the first group of wives to travel to Japan after World War II. The women reorganized the American School in Tokyo.

Later, while her husband was serving in Germany, she was a substitute teacher at the American School near Frankfurt.

Once the Guthries returned stateside, she helped found the Doctors' Wives Committee for what is now Penn Medicine. The committee opened the Nearly New Shop, a thrift store in Ardmore that raised money for Penn. The shop closed in 2012.

Mrs. Guthrie and her daughter, Marion, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters, campaigned successfully to house the Justice Bell in the bell tower rotunda of the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge.

The Justice Bell is a full-size replica of the Liberty Bell that toured Pennsylvania from 1915 to 1920 in support of women's suffrage. "The mission was to mount it onto a setting inside the wonderful bell tower," her daughter said. "We brought it in from the outside."

When she moved to Beaumont in 1995, Mrs. Guthrie expanded the community newspaper, the Beaumont News, which she oversaw for the next 12 years.

By throwing an elegant party for volunteers, Mrs. Guthrie enlisted the support of 70 percent of Beaumont's 200 residents in the project.

"Everyone wanted to go to the party," said her daughter. "Her volunteers worked as contributing artists, writers, proofreaders, and photographers. They completely transformed the newsletter. When my mother retired her position at 90, they hired a staff to fill her shoes."

Besides her daughter, Mrs. Guthrie is survived by two sons, Michael B., and Mark B.; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

A reception will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, in the Music Room at Beaumont, 601 N. Ithan Ave., Bryn Mawr. Burial is private.

Donations may be made to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia's Mütter Museum via www.collegeofphysicians.org/donate/donate-online/.