OBITUARIES

Gilbert Gude

Gilbert Gude. Photograph by Margaret Thomas/The Washington Post.

Gilbert Gude, philanthropist, environmentalist, and Republican legislator, died June 7, 2007 of congestive heart failure at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.  He was 84.  Survivors include Mrs. Jane Callaghan Gude, their five children, and three grandchildren (1).

Mr. Gude (pronounced GOO-dee) is of special importance to ASPB because in 1981 he and his family donated their family property in Rockville, Md., to be converted to the Society’s headquarters.

Gilbert Gude was born March 9, 1923.  He was raised on the Rockville property, where his father ran a very successful nursery.  He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C.  and he attended the University of Maryland.  His schooling was interrupted from 1943 to 1946 by World War II, when he served with the U.S. Army Medical Department in the Pacific theater of operations. 

After the war, Gude earned a bachelor’s of science in horticulture from Cornell University in 1948.  He worked with his father and siblings at the family nursery until he was appointed to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1955.  He was re-elected to that office until 1958.  In 1958, he was voted into the Maryland State Senate, where he served from 1962 until he was elected to Congress in 1967.  He held office for five consecutive terms as Maryland’s Republican representative until 1977 (2).

Gude’s liberal Republican values spurred his many legislative activities. Within the city, Gude advocated for home rule in Washington, D.C.  He also worked to initiate the building of the Washington metropolitan area’s subway system.

Perhaps Gude was most proud of his success in saving the historical C&O Canal, which runs 185 miles from the heart of Washington D.C. to Cumberland, Md. His sponsorship halted the construction of a highway that would have paralleled and eventually eclipsed the 19th-century canal.  His continued legislative efforts catalyzed the restoration of the canal as well as the creation of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Park in 1971. Over the next several years, Gude led at least one extensive hiking, biking, canoeing, and horseback riding tour of the Potomac River valley he so enjoyed.

Gude looked far beyond his hometown.  His amendment to the Clean Air Act of 1970 required that auto emission tests be published annually.  He also introduced standards to improve air quality in Washington, D.C. and to limit airport-based noise pollution. In 1971, he sponsored the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act to protect wild mustangs that were being hunted for dog food in the West. 

Gude was named congressional observer at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972.  He continued his political career until his surprising retirement from public duty in 1977.  He claimed to want to lead a more balanced life, yet he maintained a phone line in his home so his past constituents could continue to reach him.  From 1977 to 1985, Gude was the Library of Congress’s director of congressional research.

Also during these years, the Gude family prepared to relocate from their Rockville property.  In 1981, Gude completed his father’s preliminary plans and donated the family’s five acres with nursery, private home, and barn to the American Society of Plant Physiologists (3). (Years later, ASPP subsequently changed its name to the American Society of Plant Biologists.) The Society transformed the property into its national headquarters.  For a more in-depth study of the Gude family’s connections to ASPB, please consult the History of the American Society of Plant Physiologists by Jack Hanson (download the Chapter 5 pdf and search on “Gude” or just jump to page 203). 

The Gudes moved to a new home in Bethesda, Md. Gude remained busy after retiring from full-time work in 1986. He taught history and environment courses at Georgetown University, and he wrote three books:  Small Town Destiny: The Story of Five Small Towns Along the Potomac Valley; Where the Potomac Begins: A History of the North Branch Valley; and What Should Be the Level of U.S. Commitments for National Defense? Mr. and Mrs. Gude both moved to an assisted living facility near Sibley Hospital several weeks ago. 

Today, ASPB headquarters still resides on the skillfully landscaped Gude property.  The commercial nursery is long gone, but the charming home provides an office for the Society’s staff and meeting facilities for ASPB member committees. Clearly, the Society has benefited greatly from the generosity of Gilbert Gude and his family.

References
1. Sedam, Sean. R. Former congressman Gilbert Gude dies at 84. Gazette Community News, June 13, 2007.
2. Schudel, Matt. Gilbert Gude, 84; GOP legislator, environmentalist. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/08/AR2007060802707.html
3. McKelway, John. Plant society shields Gude home. The Washington Star, March 10, 1981.