Vonno Lamar “Butch” Gudger III, of Hendersonville, passed away at the age of 65 on September 28, 2021, after complications from years of strokes.
Butch was born the third of four siblings on September 30, 1955, in Asheville, NC, to Vonno Lamar Gudger, Jr., and Eugenia Reid Gudger. He grew up in Asheville and graduated from the Asheville School. He also graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Campbell Law School.
While both were serving as prosecutors in Moore County, Butch Gudger and Sally Tickle started a friendship that grew into a lasting relationship. They were married on February 3, 1990, and returned to Western North Carolina. Upon relocation, Butch and his father, former Congressman and Judge Lamar Gudger, started a thriving law firm in Asheville, Gudger & Gudger, LLP, where he continued to practice for three decades. While there, he dedicated time to Pisgah Legal Services as a board member and pro bono attorney.
Butch and Sally raised their children, Sarah and Reid, in Hendersonville. Despite his daily commute to and from Asheville, Butch made a lasting impact on the Hendersonville community. He taught Sunday school at First United Methodist Church of Hendersonville for two decades and attended every Hendersonville High School soccer game and band concert he could.
Friends and family members would describe Butch as perennially generous, cheerful, and kind. He was a man who showed his love through showing up, which he unfailingly did. He was greatly loved and admired for what he gave to each person that crossed his path. As an attorney, he was a steadfast advocate for his clients or causes. As a father, he was patient and dependable. He loved history, never needed a map, and read his Bible cover-to-cover innumerable times.
While we are grateful he has found peace and regained his youthfulness and cheerfulness, Butch will be deeply missed by the community he leaves behind, especially his family: wife Sally Tickle Gudger of Hendersonville; children Sarah of New York, NY, and Reid of Hendersonville; siblings Carol Gudger Hardman (Bill) of Dahlonega, GA, Betsy Gudger of Asheville, and Skip Gudger of Sarasota, FL; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 7, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Hendersonville, NC. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Butch’s name to the First United Methodist Church for their youth program or to Pisgah Legal Services.