Saturday, October 10, 2026
Peter Morris Guttchen, of Olympia, Washington, passed away on July 26, 2026. He was born in Queens, New York, to the late Robert and Emily Guttchen.
From an early age, Peter was enthralled by the outdoors and the environment. He was an avid hiker and winter camper during high school, involved in environmental and ecological projects. He hiked two-thirds of the Appalachian Trail as a senior year project, always hoping to complete the entire length.
Peter graduated from SUNY Binghampton in New York, where he met his wife, Kris. Together, they moved to Eugene, Oregon, where Peter studied environmental science at the University of Oregon. In 1989, they moved to Olympia when Peter got a job coordinating the first curbside recycling program.
Throughout his career, Peter was committed to public service, working for the city of Olympia, Thurston County, and state of Washington in various roles, all involving environmental and solid waste issues.
He began his career in recycling at a small non-profit in Eugene, creating a superhero known as Captain Wastenot, who marched in many local parades wearing golden sneakers, a green wizard hat and performing an original song called “Garbage.”
Peter was a leader and activist. He was a visionary who saw and nurtured the potential for collaboration with local government, funding sources, property owners and private citizens to make the neighborhood a better place to live.
He led the charge on the development of Friendly Grove Park, Mission Creek Park, and several walking and biking trails. His most recent projects were the Joy Food Forest (a vacant lot that was transformed into a walking path and garden filled with edible plants available to all) and Pocket Park on the corner of San Francisco and Bethel (which replaced an abandoned gas station with a food truck, a picnic area, and art by local kids).
Peter undertook every endeavor, from his work to his family, with integrity, passion, clear vision, and humor. He was a wonderful, caring, and loving husband, father, brother, and friend.
He is survived by his wife Kris, daughter Emma, brother David, and several cousins. Peter loved family gatherings, especially card games and word games. Peter was also an accomplished guitar player and played in the Ray Band, as well as with his brother, David.
He enjoyed walking in the Northeast Neighborhood (especially in Mission Creek Nature Park), and he composed an original song titled “Walking in the Northeast Neighborhood” as an ode to the many neighborhood trails and pathways. He loved long walks on the beach, especially on Washaway Beach in Tokeland.
He always brought a plastic bag, which he filled with litter. He was a regular blood donor, with a total of 13 gallons donated. Laughter was always present when Peter was in the room and his sense of humor, puns, and smile will be greatly missed. His kindness, generosity, compassion, and curiosity made the world a better place.
The loss of Peter leaves a huge hole in the lives of his family, friends and the community. We will miss his expert skills in finding fabulous vacation destinations, his clever puns, his scorekeeping in games, his deep understanding of and curiosity about history and current events, his orange ginger cranberry sauce, his homemade beeswax candles, and his detailed research of hiking trails.
The Council of Neighborhood Associations will be planting a tree in his memory on Friday Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. at the Joy Food Forest, in the 1900 block of Bethel Street, between Miller and Ethridge avenues.
It will be followed by a potluck gathering at 3 p.m. at the Capital Vision Christian Church, 1775 Yew Ave. NE, Olympia.
Gifts in Peter's honor may be made to the North East Neighborhood Association, 1910 4th Ave. E, PMB 2, Olympia, WA 98506, marked In Honor of the Joy Food Forest.
