BOB GUTTERIDGETributes were paid to Bob Gutteridge, one of the most popular, long-standing estate agents in Staffordshire.Mr Gutteridge, who set up Bob Gutteridge Estate Agents with his wife Kate, passed away on 5 September, 2009, at the Nuffield Hospital, in Clayton.The father-of-two, also a grandfather, had been ill for only a short amount of time and has since been described as a true professional.Mrs Gutteridge, from Biddulph, said: "He was my best friend, very loving and caring and a good father."He was a lovely, kind gentleman. I'd like him to be remembered for his friendly personality. He got on with everyone."Mr Gutteridge joined the industry as a 20-year-old in 1971 when he was promoted to an office management job in Newport, Shropshire.He later moved to Stoke-on-Trent for work, and settled in Biddulph where he lived for 31 years.The business was formed in Porthill in 1989 and now specialises in the sale of new and second-hand homes and provides support to national house builders with part-exchange sales.Staff at the family-run firm said Mr Gutteridge was a friend as well as their boss.Employee Louise Freeman said: "All the staff at Bob Gutteridge have been left devastated by the death of Bob, who was not only their boss but their good friend."He was a true gentleman, well respected in the community and he always had time for everybody."We will miss him bounding down the stairs briefcase in hand."He will be remembered with much fondness."Tributes have also come in from others in the industry, including members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a group which Mr Gutteridge was a member of for a number of years.Fellow member Patricia McLaughlin, who sits on the committee of the North Staffordshire RICS branch, said he was always prepared to help other members out.The chartered surveyor, of Draycott-based McLaughlins, said: "Bob was a very active RICS member locally and well-respected within the business. He was very open and trustworthy and a friend to everyone who knew him."His death is a real shock."Kevin Ford, director of Cheadle's Kevin Ford and Co chartered surveyors, estate agents and valuers, also knew Mr Gutteridge through the RICS.He said: "He was well-liked and got on well with most people."I always found him easy to deal with."Michael Dudek, of Tunstall-based Michael Dudek Chartered Surveyors, added: "I have known Bob all my working life and was stunned to find out he had died because I didn't know he was ill."He was hard-working and professional in everything he did but was still a person you could have a laugh and a joke with."I understand he was also very good on the estate agent side. To say he would sell ice cream to Eskimos is probably no understatement."He was one of the good guys and will be sadly missed."
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