Guenter Karl Mathoni, age 92, formerly of Nashua, NH, passed away Friday, April 28, 2023.

He was the son of the late Gustav Mathoni and Anna Mingers and was born on May 8, 1930, in Magdeburg, Germany. During World War II, the young Guenter fled to Bavaria when his childhood home in Hamburg was destroyed by fires following an Allied bombing raid. He attended high school in Hindelang, Germany, with continued studies in Hamburg after the war. He became a master technician and received degrees in automotive engineering and business.

Upon gaining employment with Volkswagenwerk GmbH, he became assistant general manager of the Volkswagen distributorship with 2,000 employees. Thereafter, he was chosen to become one of the original 21 German engineers to organize Volkswagen of America, Inc. In 1962, he opened Gateway Motor Company on Amherst Street in Nashua. He continued to build the dealership by adding the Mazda franchise.

Guenter was chairman of the New England Volkswagen Dealer Council, served on the Mazda Dealer Council, was a Volkswagen quality control dealer, served on the Nashua High School Advisory Committee, was chairman of the Mazda Advertising Association, served on the NH Vocational Technical College and Technical Institute Advisory Committee, served six years on the NH State Board of Education, served on the Governor’s Committee on NH Air Quality, was president of Nashua New Car Dealers Association, president of NH Dealers Association, vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Automotive Excellence-USA, chairman of the NH Automotive Dealers Association Insurance Trust, trustee of Daniel Webster College, member of Rotary, Member of Society of Automotive Engineers and Member of the 100 Club of New Hampshire.

As a testament to his dedication to the automobile industry, he was the recipient of the TIME Magazine Quality Automobile Dealer Award. TIME Magazine also selected him as the best Automobile Dealer in the Northeast, and he received recognition by TIME Magazine as one of the top 10 automobile dealers in the U.S.

After 32 years in business, he retired at age 65 to spend time with his wife Margot, who predeceased him. Married in 1952, he and Margot traveled and enjoyed 67 years of marriage. Guenter is survived by his two daughters, son-in-law and four grandchildren.