A couple who have dedicated their professional lives to serving Fort Dodge were honored Wednesday as they prepare to start the next chapter.

Lt. Chuck Guthrie, who will be retiring May 22, and his wife, retired Sgt. Anita Guthrie, have worked for the Fort Dodge Police Department for a combined 34 years.

Chuck Guthrie was hired in June 1995.

Anita Guthrie, who retired in January, joined the department in August 2000.

Their colleagues at the FDPD held a going away party in the basement of the Webster County Law Enforcement Center Wednesday afternoon.

Over the years, the couple, who are both military veterans, have taken on many different roles within the FDPD.

“I started out as a patrolman,” Chuck Guthrie said. “I worked my way into CID (Criminal Investigations Division) where I was a detective. I was also the school liaison from 1998 to 2001.”

He returned to patrol in 2001 and was promoted to sergeant in 2006.

“In 2010, at that time, I was a defensive tactics instructor and a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer,” he said. “In 2010 I became the school resource officer.”

He served in that position until 2012, when he was promoted to lieutenant.

Anita Guthrie started as a patrol officer in 2000. Like her husband, she also served as a detective in the CID.

In 2008, Guthrie made history by becoming the first – and to date only – female Fort Dodge police officer to be promoted to sergeant.

She also became the first female president of the Iowa State Police Association in 2011.

At the time of her retirement in January, Anita Guthrie was a supervisor within the CID.

Although they were a married couple working together, Chuck Guthrie said they never experienced any issues.

“We were able to separate work from home life,” Chuck Guthrie said. “She’s my best friend at home and at work too. But we always kept it professional.”

Even in the presence of other officers, he would refer to his wife by her title, and she would do the same.

“When we got home, we had our home life, which we enjoy thoroughly,” Chuck Guthrie said.

Anita Guthrie said that although they were coworkers, they never worked directly together.

“Because we were married, we never worked on the same shifts,” she said. “We worked the same days when we worked on the streets, but he would work one shift during the day and I would work the other shift at night.”

There were two different points in their careers where they worked in different divisions; one worked on patrol while the other worked with investigations.

She said that being in the same profession meant they understood the job stresses.

“We both understand the job,” she said. “We both understand what each of us can go through.”

As for the future, the Guthries plan on living in Duluth, Minnesota, where they purchased property.

“It’s a whole new beginning,” Anita Guthrie said. “We think of it as our adventure. It really is an adventure for us.”

“We’re reinventing our next future,” Chuck Guthrie added. “Reinventing our lives.”

He’s looking forward to living a stress-free life.

“I’ll take a couple months off,” he said. “I’m going to do some fishing. Work around the yard.”

As for the past, he is grateful for the opportunity to serve Fort Dodge.

“It’s an honor that I would gladly suggest to any young person if that’s a career they want to get into,” he said. “It’s very rewarding.”

Guthrie commented on Fort Dodge’s future.

“It’s been a wonderful journey watching the city of Fort Dodge grow and watching the citizens turning Fort Dodge into a city of the future,” he said. “Fort Dodge is definitely a good place you want to raise your kids.”

Anita Guthrie agreed.

“Fort Dodge has been very good to us,” she said. “We’ve enjoyed our career here and wish only the best for Fort Dodge and Webster County.”