Honoring the Legacy of Ted Gunkel

On February 23, 2026, our founder, Ted Gunkel, passed away.  With his passing, we lost not only a founder, but a man whose influence helped shape this firm, its people, and the many clients he served over the years.

Ted's legacy reaches far beyond titles or accomplishments. He helped build this firm, certainly, but more than that, he helped build people.  He guided careers, relationships, and the way work could be done with both excellence and humanity.

For me, Ted’s legacy is personal.

Long before I knew CapVal professionally, I knew Ted’s name because I heard it in my own home. Ted and my dad, Elmer Lemon, were friends and colleagues. Growing up, I can still remember overhearing so many phone calls between the two of them as they worked through client issues, transitions, and challenges together. Even then, I had a sense that these were not just business conversations. They were the conversations of people who cared deeply about doing right by their clients and by each other.

Years later, when I was starting my own career, my dad gave me a list of “who to know” in Madison. Ted was on that list.

When I called and asked him to meet me for lunch, he graciously said yes. That was Ted. Generous with his time, open to people coming along behind him, and willing to make a connection when he believed it could matter. During that lunch, he connected me to Cathy Durham because he already saw what she would become at CapVal. He knew talent. He knew people. And he understood that building a great firm was never just about the work itself, but about the people who would carry it forward.

That is one of the things I will remember most about Ted: he had expertise, but he also had wisdom. He had credibility, but he also had warmth. He made an impact not by demanding attention, but by quietly earning respect.

His obituary captures so much of that well. Ted was born in Madison in 1931, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Business, became a CPA, and, alongside his wife Linda, founded Madison Valuation and Associates, which later became Capital Valuation Group. He also lectured at the University of Wisconsin Law School, sharing his knowledge with future professionals. He was remembered not only for his expertise and integrity, but for his genuine interest in people.

That combination rings true to the Ted I came to know through my dad, through my own early career, and through the enduring culture of this firm. His professional accomplishments were significant, but what stands out even more is the way he approached people: as a thoughtful listener, a steady presence, and a wise problem solver.

It is hard to measure a life like Ted’s only by what he built on paper. His real legacy lives in the trust he earned, the clients he guided, the colleagues he encouraged, the friendships he nurtured, and the opportunities he created for others without ever making it about himself.

I am grateful that Ted was important to my dad. I am grateful that, because of that connection, he became important to me too. And I am grateful that his fingerprints remain on Cap Val in ways both visible and invisible.

We honor Ted not only by remembering what he accomplished, but by trying to carry forward the qualities that made him so respected and so loved: integrity, wisdom, generosity, humility, and a genuine care for others.

That is a legacy worth honoring.