Dr. Stefan Guttormsson

Steve, or “Dr G” as he was known, 69, of Duluth died early May 24 of a cardiac arrest and complications of diabetes at St. Luke’s Hospital. Steve was born on June 28,1947 to Stefan Thorsteinn Guttormsson and Mary Louise Jones in Northfield, MN. He was a “pastor’s kid” and lived in Calvalier, ND and Bloomington, MN before graduating from LaCrosse Central High School, LaCrosse, Wl. He was a National Merit Scholarship winner and this allowed him to attend Gustavus Adolphus College, St Peter, MN. It is at Gustavus that he met “his curly haired girl”, Rosemary Lange, whom he married on July 5,1969. After graduation they moved to Minneapolis where Steve attended the University of Minnesota Medical School, graduating in 1973. He interned at St. Mary’s Hospital, Duluth. He decided to enter the field of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and completed a residency at St. Paul Ramsey Hospital. He became board certified and moved back to Duluth to join the OB/GYN practice with Drs. Lundberg, Wall and in 1978. This group became Northland OB/GYN and now is St. Luke’s OB/GYN Associates. He practiced until health problems forced him to retire in December 2005.

He loved delivering babies and caring for their moms, as well as the challenges and details of surgery. Often in the middle of the night. His patients loved him. He was on the St. Luke’s Board of Directors from 1988-1997. He served as Chief of Staff 1994-95, on many staff committees over the years and was a member of the St. Louis County Medical Society.

Steve was proud of his Icelandic heritage and visited Iceland 5 times, making dear friends there. He was delighted when he became an Afi, Icelandic for grandfather. He served on the board of Icelandic League of North American, Icelandic American Association of Minnesota, supported the Snorri Project and was currently on the board of the Nordic Center in Duluth. His work with Icelandic Roots was to research Clergy in North America. He added information about their lives and kept their history for the people of today and those in the future.