Christie Gutknecht , 57, Minot, died on October 31, 2018 in the Huntington Beach, CA home of her sister and brother-in-law following a courageous battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

Christie Maria was born on June 17, 1961 in Minot to Herman and Janet (White) Scott.  She was raised and educated in Minot and graduated from Minot High School in 1978.  Christie's first job, at the age of eleven years old, was with the Minot Daily News inserting advertisements into the newspaper.  When she was sixteen years old, she was employed as a waitress at the Minot Elks Lodge for two years.  Then, she began employment at Target where she started in the snack bar and eventually became the Women's Apparel Department Manager.  After seven years with Target, she became the Regional Manager of 25 locations for Petrie Stores Corporation.  Eight years later, she returned to Minot and became employed in 1999 by a company that would be sold twice and ultimately become Cognizant Technology Solutions in 2012.  There she became Operations Director of the Americas until her illness forced her retirement in 2016.

Following her return to Minot, she met the love of her life, Kevin Gutknecht. They were married on June 24, 1995 in Bethany Lutheran Church. Together, they raised Kevin's children: Cody, Bryce and Summer.  Kevin died on November 5, 2014.

Christie was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church and active in community volunteering including serving as United Way Chairperson for Cognizant.   Her hobbies and special interests included a great love of pets.  Christie had an indomitable spirit of goodness and good will toward all.  She treated everyone with friendly engagement and respect.  It made her an outstanding supervisor in her career and very loved in her personal life.

Christie's loving family includes her children:  Cody Gutknecht of Minot, Bryce (Allie) Gutknecht of Velva and Summer Gutknecht of Moorhead; grandchildren:  Kayden, Jersey, Berkley and Quincy; siblings:  Jacqueline (Raymond) Ritacco of Huntington Beach CA and Gregory (Peggy) Scott of Aberdeen SD; nieces: Jeri Scott Schulze, Angela Scott and Leah Terpstra; nephews: Jason Scott, Jordan Scott and Samuel Cherewick and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Christie was preceded in death by her parents, husband and her paternal uncles.

Visitation and Sharing of Memories:  November 15, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in Bethany Lutheran Church - Minot.
Celebration of the Life of Christie Gutknecht:  November 16, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. in Bethany Lutheran Church - Minot.
Please wear a purple item of clothing or bring a purple item to the services.
Gutnecht Flower Pictures