Paul "Bud" Tutmarc, who shared Christian faith through music, dies at age 82

Paul "Bud" Tutmarc was 6 feet, 6 inches of sheer human force.

He lived in a large house, drove pink Cadillacs and sported flashy cufflinks. Waiting for things was not his style; a kinetic energy permeated everything he touched.

Especially when he picked up that steel guitar.

"He just seemed invincible," said his son Greg.

For 50 years, Mr. Tutmarc, a devoted Christian, used gospel music to spread his faith all over the world. In the end, he stopped only because illness prevented him. Mr. Tutmarc died Monday (Dec. 4) from a combination of health problems. He was 82.

Born on July 11, 1924, in Centralia, the son of Paul Tutmarc, whom HistoryLink.org credits with helping invent the electric guitar, Mr. Tutmarc grew up entertaining crowds in local taverns with his musical abilities. Later, his passion for playing gospel music took him to Europe, Asia and Australia.

He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle in 1941 and attended the Northwest Bible Institute — now Northwest University in Kirkland — and graduated as valedictorian in 1945.

That same year he married his teenage sweetheart. Mr. Tutmarc met Opal Ogden when she was 17 and he was 19.

During their courtship, Mr. Tutmarc bet his future wife that he could kiss her without touching her lips.

"How?" she asked.

He leaned over, and, losing his bet, kissed her on the lips and then handed her a dime. "It was worth it," he said.

"I said 'You tricked me,' " his wife recalled, laughing at the memory. "I told him, 'I'm just a little country girl. I'm not used to these slick city boys.' "

The couple married on Oct. 13, 1945, at the Calvary Christian Assembly, formerly known as Calvary Temple, and had five children in 10 years.

After they were married, Mr. Tutmarc ran full steam ahead, his wife said. He started a family real-estate business, served as music director of several churches, including Calvary Christian Assembly, and directed the Northwest Youth choirs for years. He recorded more than 25 albums and went on to own and operate his own studio, Tutmarc-Summit Studios, where he helped produce albums for other artists.

Mr. Tutmarc was not a man who stopped to contemplate life's injustices. Instead, he was one to help fix them, his wife said.

"He loved to encourage people," she said. "He helped so many struggling musicians and singers. He was one man who could do [the work] of ten men."

Health problems, from diabetes to heart failure, besieged him. Six years ago, Mr. Tutmarc suffered a stroke. In 2003, it happened again, taking away his fine motor skills. The man who spent a lifetime strumming his guitar could no longer coax his fingers into melodic submission.

"When he realized he couldn't play perfectly anymore ... that was a struggle," said son Greg. Instead, Mr. Tutmarc listened to old records of his music. It brought him comfort to hear the notes executed flawlessly, he said.

In addition to his wife and son Greg, of Bellevue, Mr. Tutmarc is survived by daughters Pamela Tutmarc-Fetters, of Kenmore, and Jeryl Tutmarc, of Seattle; sons Douglas Tutmarc, of Shoreline, and Michael Tutmarc, of Bellevue; sister Paula Johnson, of Tacoma; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bud Tutmarc Music Scholarship Fund at Northwest University, 5520 108th Ave. N.E., Kirkland, WA 98033, or Union Gospel Mission, P.O. Box 202, Seattle, WA 98111. His grandson Brandon has created a Web site in his honor: www.budtutmarc.com.

A celebration of Mr. Tutmarc's life will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Christian Assembly, 6801 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle.

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com