Klaus Hannes Gump

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Klaus Gump on April 27, 2018, a father of three and grandfather of four.



Born in Vienna, Austria, on December 19, 1937, as the younger son of Karl and Poldi Gump, World War II influenced much of his early childhood. Klaus graduated from a Benedictine high school selected by his parents where the emphasis was on the classics, including the study of Latin and Greek. In an early sign of rebellion, Klaus decided he wanted to be a scientist and enrolled at the University of Technology in Vienna, receiving a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in December 1964. He met his wife Christl on a ski trip at the Arlberg. Believing that he would find more challenging research opportunities in the United States, he and Christl left Austria in August 1966 for Riverside, CA, where he spent a year as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California. They travelled much of the American West, sleeping in the back of their station wagon. For the next 32 years, Klaus worked for Celanese, first at their Research Center in Summit, NJ, during which time he authored quite a few patents and earned an MBA in 1973, then in Charlotte, NC, where his job as Marketing Manager for the Far East and Oceania for smoking products entailed a considerable amount of travel, and starting in 1980 he held various managerial positions in Michigan.



After a trekking trip in Bhutan, which then had just opened to tourists, he and Christl settled in Big Sky, MT, in November 1999.



Klaus was a superb athlete, holding Austrian national records in 100 m (10.5 sec) and 200 m (22.1 sec) sprint in races conducted on not much more than beds of ash. He was also very good in track. His retirement years in Big Sky were very happy ones for him. He skied his beloved Lone Peak and hiked all over the Gallatin Valley, enjoying the companionship of his friends. Someone once called him a Renaissance Man. He loved classical music and was a lifelong opera fan. Playing “his” organ at the Big Sky Chapel was one of his favorite pastimes. In the off-season he lived his adventurous side when he and Christl took extensive trips all over the world. Over his lifetime, he visited 88 different countries on four of the five continents.



He will be missed by Christl, his wife of 50 years; his son Tom (Patricia) and grandsons Kyle and Dylan; his son Christopher and granddaughters Ana and Lexi; his daughter Karen Chang (Andrew); and his Austrian relatives: sister-in-law Gerti, nephews Wolfgang and Gerald, niece Marina, great-nephew Peter (Resi) and their children Rosa and Romy, great-niece Barbara, and several cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Hans Peter.



He wanted us to think about what he was like before Parkinson’s hit him and wanted memories of his life to give us joy and not sorrow.



There will be a Memorial Service for Klaus at the Big Sky Chapel on Monday, May 21, 2018 at 11:00 am, followed by a Luncheon at the Lone Mountain Ranch. Your support of the Big Sky Classical Music Festival (406-995-2742) in remembrance of Klaus would honor him.