Frank C. Gutierrez

Born in Biloxi in 1934, Frank Gutierrez was the youngest of four sons born to Lee Paul Gutierrez, Sr. and Katherine Slay Gutierrez. Destined to be a leader, he graduated from Notre Dame High School where he was instrumental in the building of the new Catholic High School for boys. He then attended the University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State University before serving his country in the US Marine Corp.

Frank’s earlier years found him working for the family business, “Biloxi Freezing Co.” delivering ice to the shrimp boats of the company. In later years he would be co-owner of “Sea Harvest” and “Sun Rise Seafood”.

In 1985, Frank purchased the old Biloxi City Barn located on the corner of Bayview and Lee Street. On this property, he and his wife, Anita Knebel Gutierrez, along with their sons, Brent and Clay, began a new family business called “Cash Sales Company”. This company would evolve into “Custom Pack” in 1988, a state-of-the-art seafood processing facility that specialized in the IQF (individually quick frozen) technique of freezing shrimp. In addition to this endeavor, the family owned “Custom Cold Storage” which served the seafood industry.

Civic minded, Frank served as President of the Biloxi Jaycees in 1962, was a member of the Biloxi Elks Lodge, multiple Mardi Gras Carnival associations and, of course, many seafood processing organizations.

For his lifelong preservation of his family’s legacy in supporting the Gulf Coast seafood industry, Frank Gutierrez is honored today in the Maritime & Seafood Industry’s Heritage Hall of Fame.