May Guthrie

Mayola B. Pohlmyer Guthrie, mathematician and computer specialist, had lived in the Ashton area since 1964.  She worked in the Federal Systems Division of IBM from 1968 to 1990, following several years at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.  Mrs. Guthrie made significant contributions toward development of the Hubble telescope and other space-related programs.  She had been employed previously as a scientist by the Shell Petroleum Company and by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Mrs. Guthrie was born in Driscoll, Texas in 1931, earned degrees in mathematics and chemistry at the Texas College of Arts and Industry (Kingsville), and did graduate work in mathematics at the Johns Hopkins University.  She married James L. Guthrie in 1958.  They had no children.

After retirement, May enjoyed traveling in the southwestern states, accompanying her husband on expeditions to record petroglyphs and other archaeological data, and she used her computer skills to assist in the publication of findings.  She also took the lead in renovating a family home Keuka Park, New York.